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LETTERS 


ON 


UNITAHIANIS.AI, 


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LETTERS 


UNITARIANISMj 


ADDRESSED  TO  THE  MEMBERS 


er  THE 


FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH, 


CITY  OF  BALTIMORE. 


BY  SAMUEL  MILLER,  D.  D. 

PROFESSOR    OF    ECCLESIASTICAL     HISTORY    AND    CHURCH    GOTBBS;- 
MEXT,    IX    THE    THEOLOGICAL    SEMINARY    OF    THE 
PRESBYTERIAN    CHDRCH    IN    THE    UNITED 
STATES,    AT   PRINCETON, 


TRENTON: 

PRINTED    BY    GEORGE    SHERMAX, 

1821.. 


District  of  New-J£Rsky,  ss. 
BE  it  remembeied,  that  on  the  nineteenth  day  of  December,  in  the 
forty -sixth  year  of  the  Independence  of  the  United  States  of  America, 
George  Sherman,  of  the  said  District,  hath  deposited  in  this  Office,  the 
title  of  a  Book,  the  right  whereof  he  claims  as  Proprietor,  in  the  words 
fohowing,  to  wit:  — 

"  Letters  on  Unitarianism  ;  addressed  to  the  members  of  the  First  Pres- 
"  byteriaii  Church  in  the  City  of  Baltimore.  By  Samuei  Miller,  D.  D. 
♦*  Professor  of  Ecclesiastical  History  and  Church  Government,  in  the 
**  Theological  Seminary  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States, 
"  at  Princeton." 

In  conformity  to  an  Act  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  entitled 
**  An  act  for  the  encouragement  of  learning,  by  securing  the  copies  of 
Maps,  Charts  and  Books,  to  the  Authors  and  Proprietors  of  such  copies, 
during  the  times  therein  mentioned;  and  also  to  the  act  entitled  *'  An  act 
suppleoientary  to  the  act,  entitled  "  An  act  for  the  encouragement  of 
learning  by  securing  the  copies  of  Maps,  Charts  and  Books,  to  the  Au- 
thois  and  Proprietors  "of  such  copies,  during  the  times  therein  mentioned, 
and  extending  the  benefits  thereof  to  the  arts  of  designing,  etching,  and 
eagraving  historical  and  other  prints.'* 

^  WM.  PENNINGTON, 

*"  Clerk  of  the  District  of  New-Jersey. 


CONTENTS. 

LETTER  L 

Mrodudonj  Bemarks-^Zeal  of  Unitarians  to  propagaie 
their  opinions — Design  of  these  Letters — Attention  to  the 
subject  earnestly  requested — Leading  articles  of  the  Unita- 
nan  Creed — The  present  no  sectarian  dispute-^Impor-' 
tance  of  the  poiiUs  in  controversij. — p.  9—35. 

LETTER  IT. 

Prejudices  cherished  hy  many  against  Orthodoxy — ^First 
Frejudice,  that  Orthodoxy  is  austere  and  repulsive — Con- 
sidered, and  an  attempt  made  to  remove  it — Second  Pre- 
judice, that  Orthodoxy  lays  too  much  stress  on  opinions — = 
Shewn  to  be  unfounded — Unitarians  have,  at  different 
times,  made  themselves  equally  liable  to  this  charge-^ 
Thirdly;  the  spirit  of  Orthodoxy  is  a  persecuting 
Spirits-Refuted — p.  36 70. 

LETTER  III. 

Subject  continued — Fourth  Prejudice — against  every 
thing  Mysterious  in  Religion — Examined,  and  shewn  to 
be  unreasonable — Danger  of  adopting  it  as  a  general 
principk^FiiBTu.  Prejudice-^The   atithority  of  Great. 


VI  CONTENTS. 

J\'*ames — This  plea  wholhj  unsoihnd,  and  unscripiural^-^ 
So  far  as  it  has  force,  proved  to  be  more  in  favmir  of  Or- 
thodoxy than  of  Unitarianism.' — p.  71 110. 

LETTER  IV. 

The  Scriptures  the  only  rule  of  faith  and  practice — Testis 
mony  of  Scripture  decisive  in  favour  of  Orthodoxy — The 
Early  Fathers  equally  clear  in  support  of  the  same — Bar- 
nabas— Clemens  Romanus — Polycarp — Ignatius — Ire- 
noeus —  Theophilus — Justin  Martyr — Melito — Mhenago- 
ras — Tatian — Clemens  Mexandrinus — »3ndronicus — 
Tertullian — Minucius  Felix — Origen — Cyprian — Dimuj- 
sius  of  Alexandria — J\*ovatian — Arnobius — Lactantius — 
Gregory  Thaumaturgus — Mhanasius — Martyrs  wor- 
shipped Christ— p.  111 14^8. 

LETTER  V. 

Subject  continued — Testimony  drawn  from  the  Heresies  of 
the  first  four  centuries — Cerinthians — FMonites — Marci- 
on—  Theodotns — Artemon — JS'hetus — Praxeas — Paul  of 
Samosata — >Arius —  Macedonius — These  hereticks  denied 
the  name  of  Christians — Their  Baptisms  pronmmced  void 
. — Testimony  of  Pagans — Pliny — Hierocles — Celsus — 
Lucian — Witnesses  of  the  Truth — Paulidans — Walden- 
ses —  WicUiffites —  Hussites — Beformers — Remarks  on 
this  testimony, — p,  149 190. 

LETTER  VL 

Unitarians  reject  the  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures — Differ- 
ence betxvc^irihem  and  the  Orthodox  with  respect,  to  the 


CONTENTS*  vif 

proper  office  ofBeason  in  examining  revelation — Objec^ 
iions  to  the  Unitarian  principle  on  this'  subject — Quota- 
tions from  Unitarian  writers^  shewing  that  they  realltj 
act  upon  the  principle  ascribed  to  them — Specimens  of 
Unitarian  exposition — Consequences  of  this  mode  of  ex^ 
pounding  the  word  of  God — p,  191 23*. 

LETTER  Vir. 

Truth  to  be  tried  by  its  jJractical  infiuence-^Objeciions  to 
Unitarianism  on  this  ground — Unitarianism  disposed  to 
deny  or  conceal  its  principles-^Indifferent  to  truth^Hos- 
tile  to  the  exercises  of  Vital  Piety— Deficient  in  yielding 
support  and  consolation  in  Death— Unfriendly  to  the  Spir- 
it of  Missions— Every  where  more  agreeable  to  Infidels, 
than  any  other  system  which  bears  the  Christian  name, 
^p.  235 27S. 

LETTER  VIIL 

Objections  likely  to  be  made  by  Unitarians  to  the  foregoing 
statements— Mswer— Advice  with  respect  to  the  prop- 
er manner  of  treating  Unitarians— Reasons  in  siipport 
of  that  advice— Concluding  Remarks  and  Counsels,-^ 
p.  279 312. 


y 


LETTERS,  &c 


LETTER  I. 

Introdudorij  Remarks — Design  of  these  LetterS'^Uniia' 
rian  Creed — Importance  of  the  suhject. 

Christian  Brethren^ 

A  TRAIN  of  events,  as  unexpected  as  unsought 
by  me,  has  led  to  the  present  publication.  When, 
in  the  course  of  the  last  year,  my  ardent  desire 
to  promote  your  welfare,  and  my  affectionate 
respect  for  your  young  Pastor,  prompted  me  to 
consent,  on  the  day  of  his  Ordination,  to  address 
you  from  the  pulpit,  I  little  thought  that  oblo- 
quy and  controversy  were  to  result  from  the 
service  of  that  day.  But  so  it  has  happened. 
Some  of  your  Unitarian  neighbours  have  deemed 
it  proper  to  make  me  an  object  of  repeated  at- 
tack, and  my  sermon  on  that  occasion  a  subject 
of  protracted  and  tedious  discussion.  I  have 
seldom  been  more  surprised  than  to  find,  that 
a  few  plain   sentences,    which  were   delivered 

B 


10  LETTER  I. 

under  the  impression  that  they  contained  noth- 
ing more  than  what  was  universally  understood 
to  he  the  sentiments  of  the  Orthodox,  should 
give  such  deep  offence,  and  lead  to  so  much  waste 
of  ink  and  paper.  Nor  can  I  yet  account  for 
the  fact,  but  by  supposing  that  the  Unitarians  in 
the  United  States  are  determined  to  make  the 
experiment  whether  they  can  write  themselves 
into  notice  and  importance,  and  in  prosecuting 
this  experiment,  resolve  to  let  nothing,  however 
trivial,  escape  their  animadversion.  If  this  be 
their  plan,  I  make  no  complaint  of  its  opera- 
tion on  me.  I  am  not  certain  that  any  thing 
which  has  occurred^  is  to  he,  for  a  moment,  re- 
gretted. On  the  contrary,  a  consciousness  of 
having  done  my  duty,  has  cheered  me  under 
the  past;  and  if  the  following  pages  should, 
prove  in  any  degree  useful  to  You  or  your 
Children,  I  shall  have  reason  unfeignedly  to 
rejoice  in  what  was,  in  itself,  by  no  means 
desirable  to  a  lover  of  peace. 

But,  although  the  circumstances  alluded  to, 
have  certainly  given  occasion  to  the  present  ad- 
dress, and  have  served  to  create,  at  once,  an 
Interest  in  your  prosperity,  and  a  freedom  in  ap- 


LETTER  L  H 

preaching  you,  which  I  might  not  otherwise  have 
felt  in  the  same  degree  ;  yet  I  hope  you  will  not 
consider  these  Letters  as  intended  to  answer 
any  thing  which  has  been  recently  published 
against  me  or  my  Sermon,  by  the  "Unitarian  of 
Baltimore P  My  account  with  that  writer  has 
been,  long  since,  on  my  part,  finally  closed.; 
and  it  is  by  no  means  my  purpose  to  open  or 
review  it.  Whatever  may  be  the  case  hereaf- 
ter, my  resolution,  as  yet,  remains  unshaken,  not 
to  take  the  least  notice  of  any  thing  from  that 
quarter.  And  to  this  resolution  I  adhere,  not 
merely  because  it  has  been  once  formed  and  an- 
nounced ;  but  also  because  the  writer  who  has 
honoured  me  with  so  much  hostile  notice,  has, 
happily,  conducted  his  attacks  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  render  defence  altogether  unnecessary. 

My  object  in  writing  at  present  is  your  benefit. 
It  is  to  put  you  on  your  guard  against  a  system 
of  error,  which  I  have  no  hesitation  in  consid- 
ering as  the  most  delusive  and  dangerous  of  all 
that  have  ever  assumed  the  Christian  name. 
This  system  its  advocates  in  your  neighbour- 
liood,  are  endeavouring  to  recommend  and 
establish  with  a  zeal  worthy  of  a  better  cause. 


1^  LETTER  I. 

From  the  pulpit  and  the  press,  by  the  formal 
volume,  the  humble  pamphlet,  and  every  variety 
of  exhibition  that  ingenuity  can  devise,  they  are 
endeavouring  to  make  an  impression  on  the 
publick  mind.  In  every  direction,  and  with  a 
profusion  of  the  most  lavish  kind,  they  are  daily 
scattering  abroad  their  instruments  of  seduction. 
Probably  in  no  part  of  our  country  out  of  Massa- 
chusetts^ do  these  poisoned  agents  so  completely 
fill  the  air,  or,  like  one  of  the  plagues  of  Egypt ^ 
so  noisomely  "  come  up  into  your  houses,  your 
''  chambers,  and  your  kneading  troughs,'^  as  in 
Baltimore.  In  fact,  the  Unitarians  in  that 
neighbourhood  seem  to  be  emulating  the  zeal  of 
some  of  their  brethren  in  England^  who  have 
been  known  to  go  into  an  Orthodox  church ;  to 
withdraw  during  the  prayer,  that  they  mi^ht,  not 
join  in  ^^  idolatrous  devotions;"  and  on  their 
return,  to  strew  on  a  Communion  tabley  which 
happened  to  be  spread  on  that  day,  a  parcel  of 
Socinian  tracts,  and  pamphlets.*  I  have  heard 
of  nothing  quite  equal  to  this  in  the  United 
States ;  but,  from  present  appearances,  am  by 
no  means  confident  that  something  of  the  same 


*  Rtland's  Partiality  and  Unscriptural  Direction  of  Socinian 
Zeal.  p.  39.     _ 


LETTER  I.  X3 

kind  will  not  soon  be  exhibited.  Now,  tliough  I 
have  no  fear  of  the  influence  of  all  this  on  the 
minds  of  those  who  read,  and  think,  and  in- 
quire and  pray;  yet  there  may  be  others  to 
whom  an  antidote  is  not  wholly  unnecessary. 
The  sagacious  and  eloquent  Mr.  Burke  has 
somewhere  said,  "  Let  us  only  sulTer  any  pers- 
"  on,  however  manifestly  he  may  be  in  the  wrong, 
'^  to  tell  us  his  story,  morning  and  e^  ening,  but 
"  for  one  twelve-month,  and  he  will  be  our  mas- 
^'  ter.'^  In  almost  every  congregation  there  is  a 
considerable  number  to  whom  this  maxim  applies 
with  peculiar  force.  The  young  and  inexperi- 
enced, who  are  not  aware  of  the  insidious  arts  of 
error;  the  busy,  who  have  but  little  taste  for 
reading,  and  little  time  or  disposition  for  pro- 
found reflection ;  the  amiable,  who  are  ready 
to  look  with  a  partial  eye  on  every  serious  and 
plausible  claim ;  and  the  gay  and  worldly,  who 
are  predisposed  in  favour  of  an  indulgent  sys- 
tem;— all  these,  when  frequently  assailed  by 
the  zealous,  the  confident,  and  the  talkative 
patrons  of  heresy,  will  be  peculiarly  liable  to  be 
unduly  impressed  in  their  favour.  When  they 
every  day  hear  individuals,  and  every  day  meet 
with  pamphlets,  which,  on  the  one  hand,  in  the 


14  LETTER  L 

most  triumphant  tone,  praise  the  Unitarian  sys- 
tem^ as  the  only  enlightened,  liberal,  benevo- 
lent and  rational  system,  and  its  adlierents  as 
decisively  the  most  learned,  amiable,  and  pious 
friends  of  truth,  and  candid  inquiry;  and,  on 
the  other  hand,  stigmatize  its  opponents,  as  nar- 
row-minded, prejudiced,  austere,  righteous  over- 
much, and  enemies  of  liberal  thinking  ; — when 
they  find  these  representations  made  every  day, 
and  repeated  without  contradiction,  they  will  be 
apt  at  length  to  believe  them.  When  they  find 
so  many  confident  assertions,  so  many  plausible 
professions,  and  so  many  high  authorities,  vaun- 
ted on  one  side,  and  little  or  nothing  of  a  counter 
kind  produced  on  the  other;  they  may  begin  to 
think  that  there  is  really  more  to  be  said  in  fa- 
vour of  what  they  hear  called  heresy,  and  less 
in  support  of  what  they  have  been  accustomed  to 
think  truth,  than  they  once  imagined. 

It  is  for  such  persons,  more  especially,  that  I 
wTite.  Though  neither  their  occupations  or 
habits  will  allow  the  greater  part  of  them  to  read 
a  large  work,  they  may  be  willing  to  spare  an 
hour  or  two,  occasionally,  to  gq,  through  a  small 
.  manual,  ^nd  though  they  would  not,  perhaps, 


LETTER  I.  15 

feel  much  interest  in  the  best  written  treatise,  by 
a  distant  stranger,  who  had  no  particular  refer- 
ence to  themselves  ;  yet  they  may  be  disposed  to 
listen,  for  a  short  time,  to  one  who  gives  some 
evidence  that  he  ardently  desires  the  prosperity 
of  them  and  their  Pastor,  and  who  has  written 
with  a  special  view  to  their  benefit. 

I  would  then,  my  Christian  Friends,  most  res- 
pectfully and  earnestly  entreat  your  serious  at- 
tention to  this  subject.  Pass  it  not  by  as  an  un- 
important speculation.  Give  at  least  a  transient 
hearing  to  one  who  has  something  to  say  to  you- 
which  he  considers  as  deeply  momentous,  and 
who  is  conscious  of  no  aim  but  that  of  doing 
you  good.  Recollect  that  the  cause  of  truth  has 
more  to  fear  from  the  indolence  and  indifference 
of  those  who  profess  to  be  her  friends,  than 
from  the  activity  or  the  arguments  of  her  ene- 
mies. Recollect,  too,  that  the  native  tendency 
qf  the  human  heart  is  to  embrace  some  such 
corrupt  and  delusive  system  as  that  which  calls 
itself  Unitarianism.  Many  who  respect  Religion 
in  general,  and  who  would  abhor  the  thought  of 
throwing  off  all  regard  to  it ;  yet  desire  to  have 
it  so  modijQied,  as  to  give  them  as  little  trouble, 


16  LETTER  1. 

arid  subject  them  to  as  little  restraint,  as  possible. 
Many  others  are  in  reality  infidels ;  but  are  un- 
willing to  avow  it,  on  account  of  the  pain  which 
such  an  avowal  would  inflict  upon  their  friends, 
and  the  disgrace  which  it  might  draw  upon  them- 
selves ;  and,  therefore,  are  disposed  to  resort  to 
something  which  bears  the  name  of  Christianity, 
while  it  makes  few  demands,  either  on  their  faitii 
or  practice,  essentially  different  from  their  infi- 
del creed.  And  there  are  not  a  few  who  have 
had  a  pious  education,  and  whose  consciences 
will  not  suffer  them  to  rest  without  some  form 
of  godliness,  while,  at  the  same  time,  they  su- 
premely love  the  xvorld,  and  the  things  of  the 
zvorld. — All  these  will  be  naturally  apt  to  take 
refuge  in  Unitarianism  ;  especially  if  it  be  recom- 
mended by  a  plausible  and  confident  advocate, 
or  have  obtained  currency  to  any  considerable 
extent  among  the  splendid  and  fashionable  around 
them.  Something  such  persons  must  have,  to 
save  appearances,  or  to  satisfy  conscience ;  and 
Unitarianism  will  give  less  pain  to  natural  fee- 
ling ;  will  call  for  less  self-denial ;  and  will  more 
readily  accommodate  itself  to  every  sort  of  pur- 
suit and  habit,  except  that  which  is  right,  than 
any  other-scheme  which  calls  itself  by  the  name 


LETTER  I.  17 

of  Christianity.  These  considerations,  my 
Friends,  ought  very  solemnly  to  impress  your 
minds.  If  such  be  the  natural  tendency  of  the 
human  heart,  who  can  say  that  he  has  no  inter- 
est in  the  subject?  Even  supposing  that  you  are 
in  no  danger  yourselves  from  these  temptations 
—  I  supposition  which  no  professor  of  religion 
who  feels  as  he  ought  the  deceitfulness  of  his 
own  heart,  will  be  ready  to  admit ; — still  your 
children,  and  other  relatives,  may  be  seriously 
exposed  to  danger.  It  behoves  you,  then,  to 
exercise  the  most  constant  and  anxious  care,  that 
they  be  properly  armed  against  the  enemy  ;  that 
they  do  not  fall  a  prey  to  his  seductions,  from 
want  of  fidelity  on  the  part  of  those  whom  God 
has  constituted  the  guardians,  no  less  of  their 
spiritual,  than  of  their  temporal  welfare. 

You  wall  not  expect  me,  in  these  Letters,  to 
enter  at  large  into  the  controversy  between  the 
Orthodox  and  the  Unitarians.  A  number  of 
distinguished  Individuals,  both  in  our  own 
country  and  in  Europe,  within  a  few  years 
past,  as  well  as  in  former  times,  have  written 
so  largely  and  so  well,  on  this  branch  of  polemick 
theology,  that  I  forbear  to  undertake  the  dis- 

C 


18  LETTER  I. 

cussion  of  the  general  subject.  The  limits  to 
which  I  confine  myself,  do  not  admit  of  this. 
Nor  is  it  necessary.  My  purpose  is,  to  treaty, 
in  a  very  cursory  manner,  a  few  points  in  the 
controversy,  chiefly  practical,  which,  though 
not  wholly  neglected  by  other  writers,  have  not 
been  so  frequently  or  fully  exhibited  as  I  could 
have  wished  to  see  them.  Those  who  have  an 
opportunity  and  a  taste  for  more  extensive  and 
critical  reading  on  the  subject,  will,  of  course^ 
seek  for  other  and  larger  works.  In  the  mean 
time,  if,  by  taking  a  view  of  the  subject  more 
adapted  to  those  who  have  little  leisure,  and  no 
convenient  access  to  the  volumes  of  the  learned, 
I  shall  be  the  means  of  satisfying  a  single  doubt- 
ing inquirer,  or  of  putting  on  his  guard  one 
whose  foot  was  about  to  slide,  I  shall  consider 
myself  as  most  richly  rewarded. 

1  hope,  my  Christian  Friends,  it  is  unneces- 
sary for  me  to  assure  you,  that  in  offering  to 
your  consideration  the  following  remarks,  I  have 
not  an  unfriendly  feeling  towards  any  individuals 
on  earth  who  bear  the  Unitarian  name.  On  the 
contrary,  unless  I  am  deceived,  Jihe  most  hearty 
.  good  will^and  the  most  unfeigned  desire  to  pro- 


LETTER  I.  19 

mote  their  welfare^  have  actuated  me  in  this  un- 
dertaking, and  in  all  that  I  have  written.  No 
attack  on  private  character  is  intended.  If  I 
know  myself,  I  abhor  every  weapon  of  this  kind. 
It  is  not  with  the  persons  of  Unitarians  that  I 
have  to  do  ;  but  with  their  acknowledged  prin- 
ciples, These^  I  am  persuaded,  are  not  only 
erroneous,  but  awfully  and  destructively  so.  No 
man  who  allows  himself  to  reflect,  can  be  neuter 
or  indifferent  in  this  warfare.  It  is  a  warfare 
waged  for  all  that  is  glorious  in  the  Gospel,  and 
for  all  that  is  precious  in  the  hopes  of  man.  De- 
liberately believing  as  I  do,  that  the  system  of 
the  Unitarians  is  nothing  less  than  a  total  denial 
and  subversion  of  the  Christian  religion ;  and 
that,  so  far  as  they  gain  an  influence,  it  is,  like 
that  of  the  fabled  Syrens  of  old^  to  allure  but  to 
destroy ;  it  is  impossible  for  me  to  think  of  ma- 
king terms  with  such  a  system.  Having  profes- 
sed to  devote  myself  unreservedly  and  forever 
to  the  glory  of  the  ever  blessed  Redeemer,  "  wo 
"  is  me'^  if  I  consent,  for  a  moment;  to  parley 
with  those  who  blaspheme  his  name,  or  would 
degrade  his  religion!  Whatever  may  be  the 
sacrifice,  even  if  it  be  that  of  life  itself,  this  must 
be  forborne  and  abhorred.     While,  therefore,  I 


20  LETTER  I. 

respect  the  persons^  and  desire  to  promote  the 
happiness^  of  those  who  embrace  the  heresy  in 
question,  I  am  bound,  as  a  conscientious  man,  to 
do  all  in  my  power  to  expose  the  sin  and  danger 
of  the  heresy  itself,  and  to  warn  my  fellow  men 
against  its  fatal  allurements.  And  this,  by  the 
grace  of  God,  I  am  resolved  to  do,  as  long  as  the 
convictions  are  such  as  have  long  impressed, 
and  do  now^  with  growing  strength,  impress  my 
mind. 

But  before  we  proceed  further,  it  may  not  be 
improper  to  pause  a  moment  and  inquire,  what 
is  meant  by  Unitarianism  ?  What  system  of  faith 
does  this  title  designate  ?  It  is  a  specious  title. 
It  purports,  at  first  view,  and  is,  perhaps,  really 
intended  to  convey  an  impression  to  the  popular 
mind,  that  those  who  bear  it,  are  the  only  be- 
lievers in  one  God,  while  all  others  believe  in 
a  plurality  of  Gods,  Be  on  your  guard,  I  pray 
you,  against  this  illusion  ;  for,  whether  intended 
or  not,  it  deserves  no  other  name.  The  Ortho- 
dox, it  is  well  known,  contend  for  the  Unity  of 
God  as  steadfastly  and  zealously  as  Unitarians, 
or  any  other  denomination,  have  qyer  done.  But 
when  we  speak  of  Unitarians,  we  mean  to  point 


LETTER  I.  21 

out  those  who  reject  the  Bible  doctrine  of  the 
Trinity  in  Unity  ;  who  contend  that  there  is 
in  Jehovah  but  one  Person^  as  well  as  one  Es- 
sence ;  and  who,  with  the  doctrine  of  the  Trin- 
ity, reject  all  the  other  peculiar  and  funda- 
mental doctrines  of  the  Gospel.  Those  who 
bear  this  name,  are,  indeed,  by  no  means  agreed 
among  themselves.  Some  entertain  a  higher 
opinion  of  the  Redeemer's  character  than  others^ 
as  well  as  different  sentiments  on  some  other 
fundamental  doctrines  of  Christianity.  It  is 
obviously  impossible  therefore,  in  any  one  state- 
ment^ to  exhibit  the  opinions  of  all  who  profess 
to  belong  to  this  general  denomination.  But  the 
great  body  of  those  who  call  themselves  Unitari- 
ans in  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States^ 
substantially  agree^  it  is  believed,  in  the  follow- 
ing opinions. 

They  believe  that  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity 
is  not  found  in  Scripture ;  that  it  is  one  of  the 
corruptions  of  Christianity,  and  among  the  ear- 
liest and  most  mischievous  of  those  corruptions. 
This  is  so  well  known,  that  no  proof  or  illustra- 
tion of  it  is  required. 


22  LETTER  I. 

They  believe  that  Christ  was  a  mere  man  ; 
that  he  was  the  Son  of  Joseph  and  Mary^  born 
in  the  ordinary  way ;  that  he  had  no  existence 
previously  to  his  birth  and  appearance  in  Judea  ; 
that  he  was  not  only  fallible^  but  liable  to 
SIN,  like  other  men;  and  that,  of  course,  he 
ought  by  no  means  to  be  worshipped.  Dr. 
Priestley  expressly  says,  that  the  apostles  had 
no  other  ideas  of  Christ  than  ^^that  he  was 
"  A  MAN  LIKE  THEMSELVES.'^*  Again ;  he 
says,  "  It  is  the  clear  doctrine  of  scripture  that 
^^  Christ  was  simply  a  man.'^f  Mr.  Belsham 
goes  further,  and  suffers  himself  to  speak  in 
the  following  shocking  terms  :  "  The  Unitarian 
^'  doctrine  is  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth  was  a  man 
"  constituted  in  all  respects  like  other  men^  sub- 
^^ject  to  the  same  infirmities,  the  same  ignor- 

^^ANCE,  PREJUDICES,    AND    FRAILTIES.        Unita- 

^^rians  maintain,  that  Jesus  and  his  apostles 
»^were  supernaturally  'wssAxvsiX^^^  as  far  as  was 
^'  necessary  for  the  execution  of  their  commis- 
"  sio7i ;  that  is,  for  the  revelation  and  proof  of 
^^  the  doctrine  of  eternal  life,  and  that  the  favour 
^^  of  God  extended  to  the  Gentiles  equally  with 

•  History  of  the  Corniptiom  of  ChrktianityiJ.,  p.  3. 
j;  im.  p.  6. 


LETTER  I.  23 

^^  the  Jews;  and  that  Jesus  and  his  Apostles,  and 
^^  others  of  the  primitive  believers ^  were  occasion- 
"  ally  inspired  to  foretel  future  events.  But 
"  they  believe  that  supernatural  inspiration  was 
^'  lifnited  to  these  cases  alone ;  and  that  when 
^^  Jesus  or  his  Apostles  deliver  opinions  upon 
"  subjects  unconnected  with  the  object  of  their 
*^  mission,  such  opinions,  and  their  reasonings 
^^  upon  them,  are  to  be  received  with  the  same 
^^  ATTENTION  and  CAUTION,  with  those  of  other 
^^  persons,  in  similar  circumstances,  of  similar 
^^  education,  and  with  similar  habits  of  think- 
^  ing.'^  Further,  he  says,  ^^  The  moral  charac- 
^'  ter  of  Christ,  through  the  whole  course  of  his 
"publick  ministry^  as  recorded  by  the  Evangel- 
"  ists,  is  pure  and  unimpeachable  in  every  par- 
''  ticular.  Whether  this  perfection  of  character 
^'  in  publick  life,  combined  with  the  general  dec- 
''  laration  of  his  freedom  from  sin,  establish,  or 
"  were  intended  to  establish  the  fact,  that  Jesus, 
"  through  the  whole  course  of  his  private  life, 
^'  was  completely  exempt  from  all  the  errors  and 
^'  frailties  of  human  nature,  is  a  question  of  no 
^'  great  intrinsick  moment ,  and  concerning  which 
^'  we  have  no  sufficient  data  to  lead  to  a  satis- 
"  factory  conclusion. '^^     In  another  work,  Mr. 

*  Calm  Inquiry  into  Jie  Scripture^  Doctrine  concerning  the  Per- 
son of  Christ,  p.  190.  447.  451, 


24  LETTER  I. 

Belsham^  in  consistency  with  the  foregoing  state- 
ment^ observes — '^  Jesus  is^  indeed^  now  alive ; 
"  but  as  we  are  totally  ignorant  of  the  place  where 
"  he  resides,  and  of  the  occupations  in  which  he 
^'  is  engaged,  there  can  be  no  proper  foundation 
"iov  religious  addresses  to  him,  nor  of  gratitude 
''  for  favours  now  received,  nor  yet  of  confidence 
^'  in  his  future  interposition  in  our  behalf.^^*^ 

Unitarians  with  one  voice,  also,  deny  the 
divinity  and  personality  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
Dr.  Priestley  declares,  that  by  the  Holy  Spirit 
we  are  to  understand  nothing  more  than  the 
power  or  influence  of  God,  and  by  no  means  a 
distinct  person,  j  Mr.  Belsham^  with  still  more 
freedom,  and  less  decorum,  allows  himself  to 
say,  ^^The  distinct,  personal  existence  of  the, 
^' Holy  Spirit,  is,  I  believe,  abandoned  by  every 
"  person  who  has  paid  much  attention  to  the 
^^phraseology  of  the  scriptures'' — And  again, 
^*'The  controversy  (respecting  the  personality  of 
^*  the  Holy  Spirit,)  is  almost  as  much  at  rest  as 
''  that  concerning  transubstantiation.'' J 

*  Revie-M  of  Wi'berforce.  &-   Letter  Vlll.  p.  74. 
•\  Hist,  of  the  'orvvptiom  &c.  I,  88. 
i  Review  of  Wilberforce^  &c.  VII. 


LETTER  I.  25 

As  Unitarians  reject  the  Divinity  of  Christ, 
so  they  also  reject  the  Doctrine  of  his  atone- 
ment. Dr.  Priestleij  says,  this  doctrine  is  "  one 
'^  of  the  radical,  as  well  as  the  most  generally  pre- 
^»  vailing  corruptions  of  the  Christian  scheme." 
And  again,  he  calls  it,  "  a  disgrace  to  Chris- 
^^tianity,  and  a  load  upon  it,  which  it  must 
^'  either  throw  off,  or  sink  under.'^*  Further, 
he  says,  '*  Christ  heing  only  a  man,  his  death 
"  could  not  in  any  proper  sense  of  the  word, 
'^  atone  for  the  sins  of  other  men.^^'\  Again,  he 
asserts,  that  ^^  in  no  part  either  of  the  Old  or 
^*  New  Testament,  do  we  ever  find,  asserted  or 
'^  explained,  the  principle  on  which  the  doctrine 
^'  of  atonement  is  founded  :  hut  that,  on  tlie  con- 
^^  trary,  it  is  a  sentiment  every  where  abounding, 
^^that  repentance  and  a   good   life,    are,    of 

^^  THEMSELVES     SUFFICIENT    TO    RECOMMEND    US 

'^  TO  THE  FAVOUR  OF  GOD.'^f  Mr.  BelsJiam^  on 
this  subject,  declares— ^^  The  death  of  Jesus  is 
^'  sometimes  called  a  propitiatiQn^  because  it  put 
"  an  end  to  the  Mosaic  economy,  and  introdu- 
^^ced  a  new    and    more   liberal    dispensation. 

•  Theol.  Rep.  V.  p.  124.  429. 

\  Hist,  of  the  Cormptions  of  Christianity.  I.  p.  9.27. 

\  Theol.  liepos.  1.  p.  263. 

D 


26  LETTER  I. 

"  under  which  the  gentiles^  who  were  before  re- 
^'  garded  as  enemies^  are  admitted  into  a  state  of 
''  amity  and  reconciliation ;  that  is,  into  a  state 
^'  of  privilege  similar  to  that  of  the  Jews.  It  is 
^^also  occasionally  called  a  sacrificey  being  the 
^^  ratification  of  that  new  covenant  into  which 
^^  God  is  pleased  to  enter  with  his  human  off- 
^^  springy  by  which  a  resurrection  to  immortal 
"life  and  happiness  is  promised,  without  dis- 
^^  tinction,  to  all  who  are  truly  virtuous.  Believ- 
^^  ers  in  Christ  are  also  said  to  have  Redemption 
"  through  his  blood,  because  they  are  relea- 

<^SED,  BY  THE  CHRISTIAN  COVENANT,  FROM 
"the  yoke  of  the  CEREMONIAL  LAW,  AND 
"from  the  BONDAGE  of  idolatry.'^* 

They  further,  deny  Original  sin.  They 
iSay  that  all  men  come  into  the  world  perfectly 
ini^ocent  and  pure ;  as  entirely  free  from  the 
least  taint  of  moral  pollution  as  Adam  was,  when 
lie  first  came  from  the  hands  of  the  Creator ; 
that  he  is  by  nature  no  more  inclined  to 
VICE  than  to  VIRTUE ;  that  he  derives  from 
his  ancestors  a  frail  and  mortal  nature ;  is  made 
with  appetites  which  fit  him  for  the  condition  ia 

*  Jieview  q^Wilberforce,  &c.  Letter  IT. 


LETTER  I.  27 

which  God  has  placed  him ;  hut  that  in  order  to 
their  answering  all  the  purposes  intended,  they 
are  so  strong  as  to  be  very  liable  to  abuse  by 
excess  :  that  he  has  passions  implanted  in  him, 
which  are  of  great  importance  in  the  conduct  of 
life  ;  but  which  are  equally  capable  of  impelling 
him  into  a  right  or  a  wrong  course  :  that  he  has 
natural  affections,  all  of  them  originally  good, 
but  liable,  by  a  wrong  direction,  to  be  the  oc- 
casion of  error  and  sin :  that  he  has  reason  and 
conscience  to  direct  the  conduct  of  life,  which 
may  yet  be  neglected,  perverted  and  misguid- 
ed :  that  with  all  these  together,  he  is  equally 
capable  of  right  or  wrong,  and  as  free  to  the 
one  as  to  the  other.* 

Unitarians  reject  the  doctrine  of  justification 
by  the  merits  of  Christ.  To  quote  authorities  in 
support  of  this  charge  is  needless.  All  their 
leading  writers  declare,  without  ceremony,  that 
the  sufferings,  the  blood,  and  the  righteousness 
of  Jesus  Christ,  are  nothing  more,  as  to  the 
point  of  our  personal  acceptance  with  God,  than 
thosie  of  any  other  man.     They  assert  that  the 

*  See  Pnestley  and  £elsham^And  also  Professor  JVare*s  Let^ 
t^r?,  p,  20.  21. 


2S  LETTER  I. 

PRACTICE  OF    VIRTUE   is  the    ONLY    GROUND    0¥ 

hope;  and  that  any  other  plan  of  justification  is 
unscriptural  and  absurd. 

They  believe  that  a/l  the   tuanan   race   will 
finally  be  saved.    This  was  Dr.  Priestleifs  opin- 
ion.    Mr.  Behham    also  expresses   himself  on 
the  subject  in  the  following  terms.     '^  We  may 
'^certainly  conclude  that  none   of  the  grea- 

•^TURES  OF  GOD^  IN  ANY  CIRCUMSTANCES^  WILL 
^^BE  ETERNALLY  MISERABLE.       The  wickcd  will 

^•indeed  be  raised  to  suffering;  but  since  eter- 
^^nal  misery^  for  temporary  crime^  is  inconsis- 
"tent  with  every  principle  of  justice,  we  are 
^'  naturally  led  to  conclude^  that  the  sufferings 
'^  of  tlie  wicked  will  be  remedial^,  and  that  they 
•^will  terminate  in  a  complete  purification  from 
'^  moral  disorder^  and  in  tlieir  ultimate  restora- 
'^^  tion  to  virtue  and  happiness.''*  The  truth  is, 
that  although  the  Unitarian  Purgatory  differs 
in  several  respects  from  that  of  the  Papists^  it  is 
nevertheless,  as  real  a  Purgatory;  having 
the  same  substantial  characters,  and  being  equal- 
ly opposed  to  the  whole  current  of  scripture* 

;jf  Revierj  of  IVilberfovce,  6cc.  Letter  II. 


BETTER  I.  29 

Finally  ;  the  Unitarians  reject  the  mspi7'ation 
of  the  Scriptures.  "  The  scriptures^"  says  Dr. 
Priestley y^'^VQ,  written  without  "  any  partic- 
"  ULAR  INSPIRATION^  by  men  who  wrote  accor- 
'^  ding  to  the  best  of  their  knowledge,  and  who, 
^•'  from  their  circumstances^  could  not  be  mista- 
''  ken  with  respect  to  the  greater  facts  of  which 
''  they  were  proper  witnesses ;  but  (like  other 
^•men  subject  to  prejudice)  might  be  liable  to 
^^  adopt  a  HASTY  and  ill-grounded  opinion 
"  concerning  things  which  did  not  fall  within  the 
^^  compass  of  their  own  knowledge/'^  Mr. 
Belsham  very  explicitly  tells  us,  that  ^^The 
"  scriptures  contain  a  very  faithful  and  credible 
'^  account  of  the  Christian  doctrine^  which  is  the 
^'true  word  of  God;  but  they  are  not  them- 
"  selves  the  word  of  God ;  nor  do  they  ever  as- 
"  sume  that  title :  and  it  is  highly  improper  to 
^'  speak  of  them  as  such,  as  it  leads  inattentive 
'•  readers  to  suppose  they  are  written  under  a 
^•^  plenary  INSPIRATION;  to  which  they  make 

"no  PRETENSION.'^! 

To  this  list  of  Unitarian  opinions,  I  might 
add,  if  it  were  necessary,  a  number  of  other 

♦  Historij  of  Early  Opinions,  IV.  p.  4.  5.    f  Reviexv,  &c.  Letter  L 


30  LETTER  I. 

articles ;  such  as  the  materiality  of  the  soul ; — the 
consequent  denial  of  a  separate  state,  of  activity 
or  even  consciousness^  between  death  and  the 
resurrection ; — the  denial  of  the  existence  of 
either  Devils  or  good  Angels  ;  and  the  rejection 
of  all  sanctity  in  the  Sabbath.  But  my  limits 
forbid  me  to  multiply  particulars ;  and  I 'would 
by  no  means  allow  myself  to  do  any  thing  that 
might  look  like  unduly  darkening  the  horrid 
picture. 

From  this  summary  view,  it  is  evident  that 
Unitarianism,  according  to  the  statement  of 
one  of  its  most  zealous  friends  in  the  United 
States,  consists  ^'•' rather  in  not  believing;'^ 
and  that  the  principal  difficulty  which  it  has  to 
encounter  is  to  "  make  men  zealous  in  refusing 
*^  TO  believe/^*  It  is  plain,  also,  that  Unita- 
rians reject  every  one  of  what  we  deem  the 
I'eculiar  and  essential  doctrines  of  the  Gos- 
pel. According  to  this  scheme,  there  is  no  other 
than  a  mere  human,  fallible,  and  peccable  Sa- 
viour: no  real  redemption  by  the  blood  of  Christ ; 
no  justification  by  his  merits ;  no  Holy  Spirit 
to  sanctify  our  depraved  nature ;  no  prevailing 

*  Mr.  WeUs^s  Letter,  contained  in  a  "  Brief  History  of  the  Pro- 
'gress  and  Present  State  of  the  Unitarian  Churches  in  Aimrica. 


LETTER  I. 


31 


Intercessor ;  nothing  that  can  with  propriety  be 
called  GRACE  :  all — all  is  figurative,  cold,  inade- 
quate and  unsatisfying. 

In  short,  Christianity,  if  Unitarianism  be  the 
truth,  is  nothing  more  than  a  republication  of 
the  religion  of  nature,  with  very  small  addition- 
al light.  A  future  state,  a  pure  morality,  and  the 
efficacy  of  repentance,  form  the  sum  total  of  its 
discoveries ;  and  men  are  left,  after  all,  to  ac- 
complish their  own  salvation. 

I  repeat,  that  you  are  by  no  means  to  under- 
stand me  as  asserting,  that  all  Unitarians  adopt 
every  one  of  these  opinions.  But  I  have  no 
doubt  that  they  are  all  adopted  by  the  generali- 
ty of  that  denomination.  Be  not  deceived,  then, 
when  the  charge  is  denied,  ever  so  strongly,  by 
individuals  J  who  wish  to  avoid  the  odium  of 
sentiments  which  are  found  shocking  to  popular 
feeling.  The  question  is,  not  whether  some 
who  call  themselves,  and  who  deserve  to  be 
called.  Unitarians,  believe  every  article  in  the 
list  which  I  have  given ;  but  whether  the  lea- 
ders of  their  sect,  at  present,  in  Europe  and 
America^  do  not,  substantially,  so  believe ;  and 


S2  LETTER  I. 

whether  the  spirit  of  their  si/stem  does  not  go 
the  whole  length  of  my  statetment. 

Such^  then,  is  Unitarianism.  How  far  it  dif- 
fers from  Deism,  I  leave  you  to  judge.  Mr. 
Behham,  who  is  now  at  the  head  of  the  Unita- 
rians in  England,  gives  it  as  his  opinion,  that 
Unitarianism  differs  with  respect  to  no  impor- 
tant doctrine  from  the  system  of  the  deistical 
Theophilanthropists  of  France,  Speaking  of 
those  Deists,  he  explicitly  says,  "  Their  profes- 
^^sed  principles  comprehend  the  essence  of 
"  the  Christian  religion.''*'  And,  truly,  lean 
recollect  no  feature  of  the  Christian  religion  ad- 
mitted by  Unitarians,  which  is  not  substantially 
admitted  by  serious  Deists,  except  the  divine 
mission  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  resurrection  of 
the  body ;  and  both  these  are  maintained  by 
Mohammedans,  It  follows,  then,  that  they  reject 
ALL  the  PECULIAR  doctrincs  of  Christianity. — 
Now  the  question  which  you  are  called  upon  to 
decide,  is,  whether  those  who  occupy  this  ground 
are  Christians,  and  ought  to  be  acknowledged 
as  such  ?  And  it  is  a  question  which  can  hardly 
fail  of  coming  home  to  your  consciences  almost 


LETTER  I.  33 

every  day  that  you  live.  You  reside  in  the 
midst  of  Unitarians.  They  are  daily  thrown 
into  your  company.  They  converse  on  their 
favourite  opinions.  Their  puhlications  are  con- 
tinually offered  for  your  perusal :  and  you  are 
often  tempted,  if  not  solicited,  to  attend  on  their 
preaching.  The  qiiestions  then,  how  you  ought 
to  estimate  their  opinions  ;  how  to  treat  their 
persons  ;  how  to  act  with  regard  to  their  publi- 
cations ;  how  to  consider  their  preaching ; 
whether  you  ought  to  regard  them  as  Christians 
at  all ;  whether  their  congregations  ought  to  be 
called  Churches  of  Christ ;  and  whether  the  or- 
dinances which  they  administer,  ought  to  be  sus- 
tained as  valid  ? — are  questions  which  you  must 
decide,  at  least  practically.  You  cannot  evade 
them.  If  you  forbear  to  answer  them  in  words, 
you  must  and  will  answer  them  by  your  actions. 
It  is  my  confident  hope  that  you  will  not  attempt 
to  evade  a  decision ;  and  it  is  my  earnest  desire 
to  aid  you  in  deciding  these  momentous  ques- 
tions in  such  a  manner  as  God  and  your  own 
consciences  shall  approve. 

.  The  slightest  glance  at  the  subject  will  enable 
you  to  perceive  that  this  is  no  sectarian  dispute. 

E 


34  LETTER  I. 

It  is  not  a  controversy  between  Presbyterians 
and  Episcopalians^  or  between  Calvinists  and 
ArminiajiSj  in  which  men  may  take  different 
sides^  and  yet  be  equally  safe  with  regard  to 
their  eternal  prospects.  Although  I  am  a  decid- 
ed Calvinist,  yet  it  would  never  occur  to  me 
to  place  the  peculiarities  of  the  Calvinistick 
creed  among  the  fundamentals  of  our  common 
Christianity.  While  it  is  impossible  for  me  to 
be  satisfied  myself  with  a  theological  system 
which  does  not  include  them  ;  I  find  no  difiiculty 
in  embracing  as  brethren  in  Christy  many  who 
do  not  view  them  with  the  same  eyes.  But  the 
controversy  between  the  Orthodox  and  Unitari- 
ans;,  is  of  more  vital  and  awful  import.  It 
is  a  controversy  which  relates  to  nothing 
less  than  the  Object  of  our  worship^  and  the 
Foundation  of  our  hope.  It  is  a  controversy 
which  involves  a  question  of  no  less  import  than 
this — How  you  will  regard  the  character  and 
principles  of  those  who  would  take  away  your 
God  and  Saviour  ;  who  would  tear  from  Chris- 
tianity^ not  merely  some  important  parts^  but 
the  SUM  totXl  of  its  essence  ;  that  which 
alone  renders  it  a  Religion  adapted  to  the  case 
jof  miserable  sinners  ?  I  cannot  suppose  that  you 


LETTER  I.  35 

will  feel  at  a  loss,  for  a  moment,  how  this  ques- 
tion ought  to  be  answered.  I  trust  that  every 
feeling  of  your  hearts,  as  well  as  every  dictate 
of  your  understandings,  will  furnish  a  prompt 
and  decisive  reply. 

My  dear  Brethren!  in  the  Father,  the  Son, 
and  the  Holy  Ghost,  the  one  living  and  true 
God,  the  God  of  the  Bible,  whom  Unitarians  re- 
ject, your  Fathers  believed.  In  the  name  of  the 
ever  blessed  and  undivided  Trinity,  you  have  all 
been  baptized.  In  this  adorable  Trinity,  the 
true  Church  of  God,  in  all  ages,  as  we  shall  see 
in  the  sequel,  have  steadfastly  confided  and  re- 
joiced. May  I  not  take  for  granted  that  a  doc- 
trine so  obviously  interesting,  and  so  long  the 
hope  of  the  pious,  will  not  be,  by  any  who  have 
been  educated  in  the  belief  of  it,  lightly  or 
hastily  discarded  ?  May  I  not  cherish  the  assu- 
rance that  you  will  inquire  long,  and  deliberate 
seriously,  before  you  will  abandon  your  Fa- 
ther's God  ?  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  stand  ye  in 
the  ways  and  see,  and  ask  for  the  old  paths, 
where  is  the  good  way,  and  xvalk  therein,  and 
ye   shall Jind  rest  unto  your  souls,^ 

*  Jeremiah,  VI.  16. 


LETTER  11. 


Prejudices  cherished  by  many  against  Orthodoxy — That 
Orthodoxy  is  austere  and  rejmlsive — That  it  lays  too 
much  stress  on  opinions-— lliat  it  is  a  spirit  of  perse- 
cution. 

Christian  Brethren^ 

In  entering  on  the  discussion  of  the  points  in 
controversy  between  the  Orthodox  and  Unitari- 
ans, there  ^re  some  popular  Prejudices, 
which  continually  meet  us,  and  which  seldom 
fail  to  exert  an  unfavourable  influence  on,  the. 
minds  of  many  persons  who  profess  to  be  seek- 
ing the  truth  on  this  subject.  I  need  not  say 
that  a  Prejudice  is  an  opinion  taken  up  without 
solid  reason  or  inquiry,  and  adhered  to  rather 
from  feeling  than  from  enlightened  judgment. 
Nor  is  it  necessary  to  remark,  that  prejudices 
ought  to  be  carefully  avoided.  No  man  in  his 
senses  will  be  willing  to  commit  ^limself  delib- 
erately to  J:heir  guidance  ;  yet  nothing  is  more 


LETTER  11.  37 

common  than  to  be  under  this  guidance,  even  on 
the  most  important  of  all  subjects.  And  per- 
haps it  may  be  said  with  truth  that  there  are  no 
points  on  which  men  are  more  peculiarly  apt  to 
give  themselves  up  to  the  government  of  preju- 
dices, than  on  those  which  are  now  under  con- 
sideration ;  because  there  are  none  on  which  the 
feelings  of  the  corrupt  heart  are  more  apt  to 
rise  in  arms.  It  shall  be  my  endeavour,  in  this 
and  the  next  Letter,  to  put  you  on  your  guard 
against  some  of  these  prejudices,  and  to  engage 
those  who  have  hitherto  indulged  them,  to  in- 
quire impartially  before  they  proceed  further  in 
this  course. 

I.     The   FIRST   that  I  shall  mention  in  this 
catalogue  of  Prejudices,  is,  ^^That  the  Or- 

"  THODOX      SYSTEM      IS     AUSTERE     AND     REPUL • 

^'  siVE  ;  that  it  gives  gloomy  and  discouraging 
"  views  of  human  nature  ;  and  that  the  whole 
"  method  of  restoration  to  the  favour  and  en- 
**joyment  of  God  which  it  exhibits,  is  hu- 
^^miliating  and  melancholy:  while  Unitarian- 
^^ism,  on  the  contrary,  represents  the  con- 
"  dition  of  man  as  much  more  favourable, 
•^his   danger   as   far   less,    his   duty   as    more 


38  LETTER  II. 

^easy  and  pleasant^  and  the  whole  aspect  of 
^religion  as  more  attractive.'' — "I  always 
^  feel/'  said  a  gay^  worldly  hearer,  "  I  al- 
'  ways  feel  easy  and  comfortable  when  I  listen 
*^to  the  sermons   and   prayers   of   Unitarians. 

•  There  is  nothing  to  hurt  the  feelings ;  nothing 
^  to  excite  alarm  ;  nothing  to  make  me  displea- 
'  sed  with  myself.  But  when  I  attend  on  the 
^  ministry  of  the  Orthodox,  I  am  constantly  ren- 
'  dered  uneasy  by  the  views  which  they  give  of 
'  the  condition  of  man,  dissatisfied  and  anxious 
'  about  myself,  and  discouraged  at  their  state- 
'  ment  of  what  is  necessary  to  salvation.  From 
^  the  one  I  can  always  come  away  with  a  smile 
^  and  a  light  heart ;  from  the  other,  if  I  have 
'  listened  at  all,  I  seldom  fail  of  coming  away 
'  trembling  at  my  danger,  full  of  self-reproach, 

•  and  feeling  as  if  some  serious  and  immediate 
^  measures  were  indispensable  to  my  safety."-— 

Such  was  the  substance  of  the  frank  confession 
of  an  individual;  but  the  feeling  which  dictated 
it,  is  doubtless  that  of  thousands.  I  am  confi- 
dent that  many,  for  this  very  reason,  deliberate- 
ly prefer  going  to  Unitarian  places  of  worship  ; 
and  have  little  doubt  that  others,  as  deliberately, 
resolve  to  cast  in  their  lot  permanently  with  ]that 


LETTER  II.  39 

denomination,  rather  in  obedience  to  the  feeling 
which  has  been  just  described,  than  as  the  result 
of  careful,  or  even  serious  inquiry. 

But,  I  ask,  is  it  reasonable,  is  it  justifiable, 
upon  any  principle,  to  yield  to  a  prejudice  of 
this  kind  ?  Is  that  which  is  most  palatable  al- 
ways most  salutary  ?  Ought  a  w  ayward  child  to 
take  for  granted  that  that  plan  of  education  is 
the  wisest  and  best,  which  is  most  lax  and  indul- 
gent, most  agreeable  to  his  present  feelings,  and 
from  which  all  painful  restraint  and  discipline 
are  excluded  ?  Ought  a  sick  man  to  conclude 
hastily  that  a  certain  physician  is  more  skilful 
than  any  other,  merely  because  he  constantly 
deals  in  soothing  and  palliatives,  and  never  ad- 
ministers the  remedy,  which,  while  it  would 
give  temporary  pain,  would  also  remove  his  dis- 
ease ?  No ;  every  one  would  say,  that  the  folly, 
in  both  these  cases,  w^as  extreme.  Now  we  are 
all  wayward  children ;  and  we  cannot  be  reclai- 
med and  led  in  the  right  way  without  painful 
discipline.  We  are  all  morally  diseased  ;  and 
remedies  at  present  painful  are  necessary  to  our 
restoration.  Should  we  not  call  that  man  infat- 
uated, who  desired  to  be  soothed,  flattered,  and 


40  LETTER  11. 

made  easy^  for  a  few  days^  at  the  expense  of 
years  of  extreme  suffering?  Surely,  no  less  pal- 
pable is  the  infatuation  of  that  man,  who  is  most 
pleased  with  those  who  flatter  and  set  him  at 
ease  in  his  sins ;  who  resolves,  anteriour  to  all 
examination,  to  throw  himself  into  the  arms  of 
those  who  tell  him  the  most  gratifying  story, 
and  predict  most  favourably,  concerning  his  situ- 
ation and  eternal  prospects. 

It  is  undoubtedly  true,  that  the  Orthodox  uni- 
formly represent  man  as  a  sinner,  a  fallen,  lost, 
miserable  sinner ;  as  guilty,  and  standing  in 
need  of  pardon ;  as  polluted,  and  standing  in 
need  of  regenerating  and  sanctifying  grace  ;  as 
labouring,  in  his  whole  constitution,  under  a 
deplorable  disease,  from  which  he  can  obtain 
deliverance  only  through  the  atoning  blood,  and 
purifying  Spirit  of  an  Almighty  Redeemer, 
And  it  is  equally  true,  that  they  always  repre- 
sent the  course  of  a  sinner's  return  to  God,  and 
of  holy  obedience  to  his  commands,  as  a  much 
more  humiliating,  spiritual,  difficult,  self-deny- 
ing course,  than  Unitarians  represent  it.  On 
this  diversity  of  representation,  JLhe  first  ques- 
tion that  jkvould  occur  to  a  wise  man,  is.  How  is 


LETTER  II.  41 

this  matter  to  be  decided  ?  Is  it  by  the  word  of 
God,  or  by  the  assertions  of  fallible  men  ?  If  by 
the  word  of  God,  what  does  that  unerring  guide 
say  on  the  subject?  To  the  law  and  to  the  testi- 
many :  if  they  speak  not  according  to  this  wordy 
it  is  because  there  is  no  light  in  them* 

I  ask  you/  then,  my  Brethren,  and  I  entreat 
you  to  ask  yourselves  in  the  fear  of  God,  with 
which  of  these  representations  do  the  sacred 
Scriptures,  both  in  their  letter  and  spirit,  best 
accord  ?  Do  they  teach  man  that  he  is  in  a  state 
of  spiritual  health ;  that  his  nature  is  pure  5 
that  he  stands  in  no  need  of  the  regenerating, 
and  sanctifying  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  that 
he  can  purchase  pardon,  if  he  should  ever  hap- 
pen to  need  it,  by  his  own  works ;  that  he  has 
inherent  strength  to  perform  all  that  God  re- 
quires ;  that  he  has  no  hell,  or  a  very  trivial  one^ 
to  fear ;  and  that  final  happiness  will  be  attained 
by  every  man,  however  disobedient?  Do  the 
Scriptures  teach  thus  ?  Do  they  thus  throw  the 
Saviour  and  the  Holy  Spirit  into  the  shade, 
and  make  salvation  an  unmeaning  term  ?  Or  do 
they  teach  directly  the  reverse  of  all  this?  Let 
not  your  feelings  decide  these  questions.     This 

F 


4^  LETTER  II. 

would  be  like  making  a  culprit  at  the  bar  botli 
juror  and  judge  in  his  own  case.  But  let  en- 
lightened^ impartial  conscierice^  with  the  word  of 
God  in  your  hands,  give  the  answer.  What  will 
it  avail  you,  in  the  great  day  of  trial,  to  find  that 
you  have  been  flattered  by  blind  leaders  of  the 
hlindj  and  have  set  at  naught  the  plain,  repea- 
ted, solemn  declarations  of  that  word,  which 
was  given  to  guide  you  into  the  xv ay  of  peace ,, 
and  which  will  be  the  great  standard  of  judg- 
ment in  that  day  ? 

But  is  the  system  of  the  Unitarians  really 
more  favourable  to  comfort  of  mind  than  that  of 
the  Orthodox  ?  "  Is  that  system  "  gloomy''  and 
"  full  of  horrors,"  which  directs  the  guilty  and 
•^^  burdened  mind  to  a  Saviour,  who  is  described 
"  by  the  inspiration  of  God,  as  able  to  save  to 
^^THE  uttermost;  or  that  which  must  consign 
'*  us  to  all  the  miseries  of  despondency  and  des- 
/^pair,  by  representing  this  Saviour  as  a  mere 
^•^man — a  fallible^  peccable  man — a  man  liable  to 
''  ignorance^  prejudice^  and  sin  ?^^  Is  not  the  latter* 
in  fact,  like  evbry  other  deceiver,  though  smiling 
and  flattering  in  its  aspect,  utterly  hostile  to  true 
enjoyment  ?    Read  the  Xllth  of  the  excellent 


LETTER  11.  43 

Letters  of  Dr.  Fuller,  on  the  Galvinistick  and 
Socmian  Systems  compared;  and  I  have  no 
doubt  you  will  be  fully  convinced  that  the  system 
of  the  Orthodox  is,  in  every  view,  most  friendly 
to  peace  of  conscience,  to  habitual  tranquility 
and  cheerfulness  of  mind,  and  to  that  genuine 
spiritual  joy,  which  flows  from  the  richest  conso- 
lations, and  the  purest  and  most  exalted  hopes. 
Like  a  faithful  physician,  it  wounds  but  to  heal ; 
like  a  precious  medicine  of  life,  it  gives  tempo- 
rary pain,  but  to  produce  infinitely  more  than  a 
counterbalance  of  health  and  comfort  in  the  end. 
It  is  not,  indeed,  and  it  is  one  of  its  glories  that 
it  is  not,  friendly  to  carnal  and  grovelling  joys ; 
to  those  which  are  connected  with  the  theatre, 
the  card- table,  the  midnight  revel,  or  any  scene 
of  unhallowed  sensuality.  It  boasts  of  no  pow- 
er to  place  men  at  ease  in  their  sins,  or  to  say. 
Peace,  peace,  when  there  is  no  peace.  On  the 
contrary,  it  ever  tends  to  make  wicked  men 
deeply  anxious  and  apprehensive,  as  they  ought 
to  be.  It  allows  none  to  be  tranquil  and  happy 
but  those  w  ho  have  forsaken  sin,  and  become 
true  penitents  and  believers  in  Christ.  But  to 
the  humble,  the  contrite,  and  the  obedient  be- 
liever, it  speaks  peace,  aud  comfort  and  blessed- 


44  LETTER  II. 

ness :  it  presents  a  foundation  of  hope  of  the 
most  firm  and  ample  kind ;  it  elevates  the  soul 
with  the  assurance  of  God's  love ;  imparts  to  it 
a  peace  which  passeth  all  understandings  and 
spreads  before  it  the  most  animating  and  trans- 
forming prospects  for  the  life  to  come.  I  do 
consider  the  undoubted  fact^  that  Unitarian- 
ism  allows  all  classes  of  men^  even  those  against 
whom  the  word  of  God  denounces  the  most  aw- 
ful threatenings,  to  dismiss  all  anxiety  about 
their  condition,  and  to  live  at  ease,  as  one  of  the 
most  conclusive  symptoms  of  its  anti-christian 
character.  That  system  cannot  be  of  God^ 
which,  in  proportion  as  it  takes  more  full  pos- 
session of  the  mind,  renders  it  more  firmly  at- 
tached to  worldly  pursuits  and  pleasures,  more 
at  ease  in  a  licentious  course,  less  inclined  to  the 
duties  of  devotion,  and  more  reluctant  to  think 
of  death  and  eternity.  ^' I  should  like,''  said 
one  of  the  shrewdest  men  in  our  country,  on  be- 
ing asked,  after  his  return  from  hearing  the  most 
popular  Unitarian  preacher  then  in  Boston^  how 
he  was  pleased  with  him,  "  I  should  like,"  said 
he,  "  always  to  hear  such  preachings  if  J  were 
^'  sure  I  was  never  to  die.'^ 


LETTER  II.  45 

II.  A  SECOND  Prejudice  against  which  I 
wish  to  put  you  on  your  guard,  is  expressed  in 
various  terms  ;  but  the  substance  of  it  is,  "  that 
^^THE   Orthodox   attach  too  much  impor- 

^^TANCE    to   the    POINTS  IN    CONTROVERSY    BE- 

^^tween  them  and  the  Unitarians.''  Many 
are  willing  to  allow  that  Unitarians  are  wrong — 
sadly  wrong ; — but  that  they  should  be  regar- 
ded as  so  essentially  wrong,  as  to  endanger 
their  eternal  salvation,  to  preclude  all  ecclesias- 
tical intercourse  with  them,  and  even  to  render 
it  improper  to  give  them  the  name  of  Chris- 
tian ; — they  consider  as  going  by  much  too  far : 
as  a  sort  of  theological  extravagance,  rather  fit- 
ted to  exasperate  feelings,  and  make  infidels,, 
than  promote  the  cause  of  truth  and  charity. 
Accordingly,  the  minds  of  such  persons  are  not  a 
little  wounded,  when  they  hear  the  errors  of 
Unitarians  denounced  as  "  dreadfuP'  and  "  soul 
^'  destroying.''  They  imagine  that  more  mild 
and  inoffensive  language  would  better  accord 
with  the  spirit  of  the  Gospel.  These  impres- 
sions, in  many,  are  rendered  still  more  deep  and 
unfavourable,  when  they  observe  that  Unitari- 
ans commonly  profess  to  speak  a  very  difi*erent 
language  ;  that  they  plume  themselves  on  their 


46  LETTER  II. 

"  liberality  ;'^  that  they  profess  to  be  ever  ready 
to  respect  as  pious,  and  to  receive  to  the  arms 
of  their  ''  charity/'  all  classes  of  men  who  as- 
sume the  Christian  name ;  and  that  they  consider 
no  difference  whatever,  on  the  score  of  doctrine, 
as  sufficient  to  preclude  ecclesiastical  communion. 

Before  you  allow  yourselves,  my  Christian 
Brethren,  to  countenance,  in  the  least  degree, 
this  prejudice,  I  beg  your  candid  attention  to  a 
few  remarks,  which  I  hope  will  convince  you, 
that  the  common  cry  against  the  Orthodox,  of 
^^Uncharitableness,''  is  one  of  the  most  un- 
founded and  unreasonable  that  ever  obtained 
currency  in  a  deluded  world. 

I  am  sensible  that  we  are  not,  in  all  cases, 
capable  of  deciding  what  doctrines  are  to  be 
considered  as  absolutely  essential  to  Chris- 
tianity, and  what  doctrines,  though  important, 
are  of  secondary  moment.  Hence  the  wisest 
and  profoundest  divines  have  always  regarded 
the  task  of  making  a  list  of  the  fundamental 
trutlis  of  reli'gion,  as  a  very  delicate  and  difficult 
one.  But  with  respect  to  some  doctrines,  there 
can  be  no  hesitation  in  deciding,  that  if  there 


LETTER  II.  47 

be  any  such  thing  as  fundamental  truths,  these 
belong  to  the  number.  Of  this  number,  the 
Orthodox  have  always  been  persuaded,  is  the 
doctrine  of  the  true  and  proper  Divinity  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Those  who  admit  this  doc- 
trine, and  build  their  whole  system  upon  it ;  and 
those  who  totally  reject  it,  can  never  worship  or 
commune  together.  It  will  be  easy,  I  think,  to 
make  it  appear  that  they  are  of  different  reli- 
gions ;  and  that  to  consider  it  in  any  other  light, 
is  a  perversion  of  reason  as  well  as  of  scripture. 

The  Orthodox  assuredly  believe,  that  man  is 
a  guilty,  depraved  and  ruined  creature,  by  na- 
ture as  well  as  by  practice.  They  believe  that 
there  is  no  other  way  by  which  he  can  regain 
the  favour  and  image  of  his  Maker,  than  by  the 
atoning  blood,  and  sanctifying  Spirit  of  the  eter- 
nal Son  of  God.  They  are  persuaded,  moreover, 
that  it  is  the  union  of  Divinity  and  humanity  in 
the  adorable  Person  of  the  Saviour,  that  makes 
his  atoning  sacrifice  infinitely  meritorious,  and 
that  stamps  infinite  sufficiency,  efficacy,  and 
glory  on  his  righteousness.  And  they  believe, 
with  equal  confidence,  that  without  an  humble 
and  cordial  reception  of  this  great  Mediator,  as 


48  LETTER  iL 

the  Lord  our  righteoumess^  and  the  Lord  our 
strength^  as  the  foundation  of  our  hope,  and  the 
life  of  our  souls,  there  is  no  vital  union  to  Him  ; 
no  interest  in  his  atonement ;  no  salvation.  But 
all  this  Unitarians  reject  as  a  vain  delusion,  and 
denounce  as  gross  idolatry.  In  their  view,  man, 
stands  in  no  need  of  a  Redeemer,  and  Jesus 
Christ  is  nothing  more  than  a  mere  human  teach- 
er. Now  I  ask,  can  these  two  parties  consider 
their  points  of  difference  as  of  a  minor  sort,  or  re- 
concileable  ?  When  the  question  is,  whether  the 
Saviour  in  whom  I  put  my  trust,  is  a  Divine 
being,  or  only  a  man,  like  myself;  whether  He 
is  a  mere  creature,  or  tlie  uncreated  God,  the 
Maker  and  Governor  of  all  worlds  ;  whether 
He  is  to  be  honoured  and  worshipped  as  my 
Almighty  Deliverer  from  sin  and  death,  or  only 
respected  as  a  mere  human  preacher  of  mercy — • 
when  these  are  the  questions  to  be  asked,  can 
those  who  answer  them  not  only  differently, 
but  OPPOSITELY,  be  of  the  same  religion,  or 
worship  in  the  same  temple?  Impossible!  The 
objects  of  their  worship  are  different;  the 
grounds  of  their  confidence  are  different;  the 
whole  current  of  their  exercises,  and  of  their 
language,    in    contemplating    and    in    seeking 


LETTER  iL  49 

salvation,  must  be  entirely  different.  They  who 
adopt  the  erroneous  side,  substitute  another 
Gospel,  nay,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say,  another 
God,  in  place  of  the  Gospel  and  the  God  of  the 
Bible.  As  well  might  light  and  darkness  be 
expected  to  agree.  Either  the  Orthodox  must 
be  involved  in  the  dreadful  guilt  of  worshipping 
a  creature  instead  of  the  Creator ;  or  the  Uni- 
tarians in  the  no  less  shocking  guilt  of  denying^ 
the  Lord  that  bought  us^  and  habitually  blas- 
pheming that  Name  which  is  above  every  name. 
Can  this  difference  be  a  matter  of  small  mo- 
ment ?  Is  it  easy,  nay  is  it  possible  to  "  make  too 
^^much"  of  it — to  ^^  attach  too  much  impor- 
"tance"  to  it?  I  could  just  as  soon  believe  that 
the  points  in  controversy  between  the  Christian 
and  the  Atheist  are  trivial  matters,  and  that 
both  might,  with  perfect  comfort,  worship  in  the 
same  sanctuary,  and  commune  at  the  same  table  ! 

Before  any  one,  then,  can  reasonably  find 
fault  with  the  Orthodox  for  laying  too  much 
stress  on  the  opinions  in  controversy  between 
them  and  Unitarians,  he  must  first  assume  as  a 
conceded  Jact  that  the  opinions  of  the  Orthodox 
are  false.     For  if  they  are  admitted  to  be  true* 

G 


50  LETTER  11. 

(and  surely  the  Orthodox  believe  them  to  be  so) 
then  all  the  important  consequences  which  we 
contemplate  must,  demonstrably,  flow  from  them. 
If  the  children  of  men  be  lost  and  perishing  sin- 
ners ; — if  we  essentially  need  pardon  and  sanc- 
tification  ; — ^if  the  eternal  Son  of  God  became 
incarnate  that  he  might  be  made  an  atoning 
sacrifice  for  our  sins  ; — if  there  be  no  other 
WAY  in  which  forgiveness  and  purity  can  be  im- 
parted to  us,  than  by  the  obedience,  the  suffer- 
ings, and  the  Spirit  of  an  Almighty  Redeemer ; 
• — if  the  plan  of  salvation  adopted  by  infinite 
Wisdom  be  a  plan,  not  of  works,  but  of  mere 
GRACE  ; — and  if  we  must  receive  it  with  humble 
gratitude,  as  a  system  of  grace,  or  perish;-— 
then,  I  ask,  do  we  attach  unwarrantable  impor- 
tance to  tliese  truths,  when  we  represent,  th^ 
reception  of  them  as  essential  to  salvation,  and 
Consider  those  who  reject  them  as  unworthy  of 
the  Christian  name?  If  they  be  true,  all  this 
follows  of  course.  <^^Let  none  persuade  you 
*•'  then,  my  friends,  that  the  doctrine  of  the 
^'  Trinity  is  a  matter  of  curiosity  and  specu- 
•nation  only.  Our  religion  is  founded  upon 
^^  IT.  For  what  is  Christianity  but,  a  manifesta- 
••tion  of  the  three  Divine  Persons  as  engaged  in 


LETTER  II.  51 

^"^  the  great  work  of  man's  redemption,  begun, 
"  continued,  and  to  be  ended  by  them,  in  their 
^^  several  relations  of  Father,  Son  and  Holy 
^^ Ghost;  Creator,  Redeemer  and  Sanctifier; 
^•'  three  Persons  in  one  God  ?  If  there  be  no  Son 
"  of  God,  WHERE  IS  OUR  REDEMPTION  ?  If  there 
''  be  no  Holy  Spirit,  where  is  our  sanctifi- 
"  cation  ?  Without  both,  where  is  our  Sal- 
"  VATiON  ?  And  if  these  two  Persons  be  any 
•^  thing  less  than  Divine,  why  are  we  baptized 
"  equally  in  the  name  of  the  Fatlier,  and  of  the 
"  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost  ?  Let  no  man, 
'^  therefore,  deceive  you.  This  is  the  true  God 
"  and  eternal  lifeP"^ 

Accordingly,  let  me  entreat  you,  my  Breth- 
ren,  to  appeal  to  the  unerring  Word  of  God,  and 
see  whether  the  true  doctrine  concerning  the 
Person  and  work  of  Christ,  is  not.  there  repre- 
sented as  that  great  fundamental  matter,  on 
which  the  whole  fabrick  of  Christianity,  and  all 
our  hopes  for  eternity  must  rest.  The  Saviour 
himself  expressly  declares,  that  all  men  should 
honour  the  Son  even  as  they  honour  the  Father, 
He  that  honoiireth  not  the  Son^  honourcth  not  the 

*  Bishop  Hobxe's  Discourses  on  the  Trinitij, 


5ie  LETTER  II. 

Father  which  hath  sent  him.^  The  Apostle  Pe- 
ter speaks  thus — But  there  were  false  prophets 
nlso  among  the  people,  even  as  there  shall  be  false 
prophets  among  youy  who  privily  shall  bring  in 

DAMNABLE    HERESIES^  even  DEIFYING     THE  LORD 

THAT  BOUGHT  THEM,  and  bring  upon  themselves 
SWIFT  DESTRUCTION.!  The  Apostle  John, 
amidst  all  the  tenderness,  and  benevolence  which 
so  strikingly  characterize  his  writings,  declares 
— ZTd*  that  abideth  not  in  the  doctrine  of  Christ, 
hath  not  God ;  he  that  abideth  in  the  doctrine 
of  Christ,  he  hath  both  the  Father  and  the  Soji, 
If  there  come  any  unto  you,  and  bring  not  this 
doctrine,  receive  Mm  not  into  your  house,  neither 
bid  him  God  speed:  for  he  that  biddeth  him  God 
speed,  is  a  partaker  of  his  evil  deeds, %  Again, 
it  is  said,  who  is  a  liar,  but  he  that  denieth  that 
Jesus  is  the  Christ  ?  Whosoever  denieth  the  Son, 
the  same  hath  not  the  Father,^  Again,  another 
inspired  Apostle  pronounces.  As  we  said  before^ 
so  say  I  now  again.  If  a?7y  man  preach  any  other 
gospel  unto  you  than  that  ye  have  received,  let 
him  be  accursed.^  Again,  we  are  assured.  Other 
foundation  can  no  man  lay  but  that  which  is  laid^ 

♦  John  V   22.  23.         f  II  Peter  U.  1.         ^  II.  JoJm  9. 
§  1.  John  II.  22.  23.        d  Galatians,  I.  9. 


LETTER  II.  53 

which  is  Jesus  Christ  ;*  and  concerning  liimself 
our  blessed  Lord  solemnly  pronounces,  If  ye  be- 
lieve not  that  I  am  he,  ye  shall  die  in  your  sins,\ 
— Now,  whatever  doubt  may  exist  as  to  the  im- 
port of  these  passages  in  other  respects,  one 
thing  is  plain.  They  unquestionably  teach  that 
the  true  doctrine  concerning  Christ  is  essential 
TO  Christianity,  and  that  a  rejection  of  it  is 
nothing  less  than  an  anti-christian  departure 
from  the  faith. 

Let  not,  then,  the  charge  of  want  of  "  chari- 
''  ty,"  or  laying  a  "  bigotted*^  and  unreasonable 
stress  on  a  particular  set  of  opinions,  alarm  you. 
As  long  as  you  are  borne  out  by  the  word  of 
God,  you  may  be  perfectly  content  under  char- 
ges of  this  kind.  Why  should  we  disguise  the 
tri^th,  or  deceive  ourselves  or  others  concerning 
this  matter  ?  \^^ly  should  we  be  led  away,  under 
the  pretence  of  "  liberality''  or  "  benevolence,'' 
to  give  up  that  which  is  essential  to  the  life  of 
our  souls  ?  Is  it  real  "  charity"  to  our  fellow 
men  to  allow  them  to  be  hoodwinked  and  decei- 
ved, nay  directly  to  help  to  blind  and  embolden 
them,  in  rushing  on  to  their  own  destruction  ? 

*  I.  Cor.  III.  IL        t  •'o^"  VIII.  24. 


54  LETTER  II. 

Is  it  real  -'*  charity"  to  tell  men  that  an  error 
is  non-essential^  and  that  there  is  no  danger  in 
adopting  it^  when  Jehovah  has  pronounced  that 
it  is  "  damnable/'  and  brings  upon  those  who 
adopt  it^  ''  swift  destruction  ?''  O  my  Friends, 
the  folly  of  desiring  Ministers  to  prophecy  smooth 
thi?2gs  in  such  a  case,  is  of  the  most  extreme  and 
wonderful  kind!  To  give  the  name  of  christian 
<^  benevolence''  and  ^^  charity"  to  conduct  which 
is  calculated  eternally  to  destroy  all  who  are 
influenced  by  it,  is,  of  all  perversions,  both  of 
language  and  of  principle,  one  of  the  most  enor- 


mous 


Nor  let  it  be  forgotten,  while  we  are  on  this 
branch  of  the  subject,  that  Unitarians  themselves 
were  07ice  accustomed  to  speak  a  very  different 
language,  on  the  points  in  controversy  between 
them  and  the  Orthodox,  from  that  which  they 
now  commonly  employ.  Now  they  endeavour 
to  make  you  believe  that  the  questions  in  dis- 
pute between  them  are  not  fundamental ;  th^,t 
they  are  matters  of  doubtful  speculation,  about 
which  good 'men  may  entertain  very  diiFerent\ 
opinions,  without  separating  from  each  other. 
But  they  have  not  been  always  in  the  habit  of 


LETTER  II.  5S 

speaking  thus :  and  I  am  persuaded  I  do  them 
no  injustice  when  I  express  a  suspicion^  that 
they  sometimes,  at  least,  speak  thus  to  serve  a 
turn.  Formerly  they  were  accustomed  to  main- 
tain, that  the  doctrines  of  the  Divinity  of  Christ, 
and  of  the  Trinity  in  Unity,  ought  to  be  consid- 
ered, not  only  as  the  most  outrageous  of  all 
absurdities,  but  as  among  the  most  pestiferous  of 
all  errors ;  that  they  are  directly  contrary  to 
every  sound  principle  of  natural  and  revealed 
religion ;  that  those  who  embrace  them,  make 
more  Gods  than  one ;  that  they  are  guilty  of  a 
shocking  breach  of  the  first  Commandment,  and 
are  chargeable  with  the  sin  of  gross  idolatry. 
This  was  the  habitual  language  of  the  Unitari- 
ans, until  within  a  few  years.  Faustiis  Socinus 
himself  speaks  on  the  subject  in  this  strain. 
Though  he  believed  Christ  to  be  a  mere  man, 
yet  he  maintained,  with  the  most  ardent  zeal, 
that  he  ought  to  be  worshipped.  He  expressly 
says,  that,  "  to  deny  worship  to  him,  is  not  a 
"  simple  error,  or  a  mere  mistake ;  but  a  most 
''  pernicious  error ;  an  error  which  leads  to  Ju- 
"  daism,  and  is,  in  effect,  denying  Christ ;  that 
"it  tends  to  Epicurianism,  and  even  to  Athe- 
^'  iSM.'^     And  to  shew   that  he  was   really  in 


56  LETTER  tl. 

earnest,  in  believing  as  he  taught,  he  and  his 
friend  Blandrata  persecuted  poor  Davidies,  in  a 
manner  which  issued  in  his  miserable  death, 
because  he  could  not  be  brought  to  teach  or  ad- 
mit, as  they  did,  that  a  mere  man  ought  to  be 
worshipped.  Smalcius^  another  Socinian,  ex- 
pressly says,  that  they  are  no  Christians  who 
refuse  to  give  divine  worship  to  Christ.  And, 
in  the  spirit  of  these  declarations,  some  of  the 
most  distinguished  English  Unitarians  have, 
within  a  few  years,  used  language  quite  as  de- 
cisive and  ''  uncharitable"  as  any  that  the  most 
thorough-going  Calvinists  have  ever  employed. 
They  have  called  upon  their  followers  to  "  come 
''  out  from  Babylon  ;''  to  ''  separate  themselves 
^^  from  idolaters  ;''  have  publickly  declared  that 
the  separation  of  Unitarians  from  Trinitarians 
is  as  obviously  proper  and  necessary  as  was  the 
separation  of  Protestants  from  the  church  of 
Rome ;  and  they  have  not  scrupled  to  stigma- 
tize the  Orthodox  continually  as  ^'  Polytheists,'^ 
^^  Idolaters,''  ^*' Blasphemers,''  &c.  This  is 
^"'laying  stress"  with  a  witness  on  doctrinal 
opinions !  It  is  hoped  that  no  Unitarian,  here- 
after, will  ever  find  fault  with  the  Orthodox  for 
considering^ the  Divinity  and  worship  of  Christ 


LETTER  11.  57 

as  essentials  in  the  Gospel  of  his  grace,  and  for 
maintaining  that  they  are  no  Christians  who 
reject  them. 

Dr.  Priestley  himself  says,  ^^If  there  ever 
'^  was  any  such  thing  as  idolatry^  it  is  paying 
''  religious  worship  to  any  other  than  the  one 
"  only  living  and  true  God ;  and  if  it  he  of  any 
''  consequence  to  preserve  inviolate  the  first  ar- 
'^  article  of  all  revealed  religion,  viz.  the  unity 
"  of  God,  and  the  exclusive  worship  of  Him, 
"  (which  was  the  one  great  object  of  the  Jewish 
"  religion,  and  continues  to  be  so  in  the  Chris- 
''  tian)  it  must  be  incumbent' upon  us  to  frequent 
"  no  society  of  christians,  however  pious  and 
"  sincere  they  may  be,  if  v/e  be  convinced  they 
^'  err  in  so  essential  an  article  of  faith  as  this. 
"  It  is  innocent  in  them  who  are  ignorant,  and 
''  act  agreeably  to  their  consciences  ;  but  it  is 
''  criminal  in  us  who  know  better.  There  are, 
"  no  doubt,  differences  in  lesser  matters,  which 
^'  may  be  borne  with  in  members  of  the  same 
"  society ;  but  if  any  difference  in  opinion  and 
"  practice  will  justify  a  separation,  it  must 
''  be  THIS.  That  such  a  corrupt  mode  of  reli- 
"  gion   is   enjoined  by  the  civil  powers  under 

H 


58  LETTER  IL 

^'  which  we  live,  will  no  more  authorize  or  ex- 
^'  cuse  our  conformity  to  it,  than  the  same  con- 
^'  siderations  would  have  justified  the  primi- 
"  tive  Christians  in  conforming  to  the  rites  of 
^^  the  Pagan  worship,  which  were  enjoined  by 
^^  the  laws  of  the  Roman  empire.  The  answer 
''  of  the  apostles,  Peter  and  John,  to  the  Jewish 
''  High  Priest,  should  be  adopted  by  all  chris- 
"  tians :     JVe  ought  to  obey    God  rather   than 

It  is  true  that  modern  Unitarians,  while  they 
adopt  this  language,  profess  to  feel  kindly  to- 
wards their  orthodox  neighbours^,  and  not  to 
suppose  that  their  opinions  will  be  destructive 
of  their  final  safety :  nay,  some  Unitarians  do 
not  even  deny  the  christian  character  of  the  or- 
thodox, on  account  of  their  alledged  idolatry. 
But  how  this  is  to  be  accounted  for,  I  will  not 
undertake  td  decide ;  unless,  indeed  it  be  suppo- 
sed, as  I  am  rather  inclined  to  think,  with  the  late 
excellent  Mr.  Fuller^  we  ought  to  suppose,  that 
^*  ho  reason  can  be  assigned  for  it,  excepting  their 

*  Introdrictorn  Essay  to    Forms  of  Prayer  for  the  use  of  Unitarian 
Societies.    8  70.  1783. 


LETTER  IL  59 

•^  indifference  to  trutb^  and  the  deistical  turn  ef 
•^  their  sentiments.'^* 

Unitarians^  indeed^  pretty  generally  disclaim 
the  opinion^  that  any  particular  belief  is  neces- 
sary to  salvation :  and,  in  truth,  it  must  be  so, 
for  they  are  generally  believers  in  the  doctrine 
of  universal  salvation.  Such  persons  are,  of 
course,  persuaded  that  no  departure  from  the 
truth,  either  in  faith  or  practice,  not  even  athe- 
ism itself,  or  the  most  fiend-like  abominations  in 
conduct,  can  eternally  destroy  any  one.  But  I 
leave  you  to  say,  how  this  opinion  can  be  recon- 
ciled with  such  declarations  as  the  following — - 
If  ye  believe  not  that  lam  he,  ye  shall  die  in 
your  sins.  He  that  hath  the  Son  hath  life  ;  but 
he  that  hath  not  the  Son,  hath  not  life.  He  that 
beli&veth  on  the  Son  of  God  hath  everlasting  life, 
and  shall  not  come  into  condemnation,  but  is  pass- 
ed from  death  unto  life  ;  but  he  that  believeth  7iot 
on  the  Son  of  God,  shall  not  see  life,  but  the 
WRATH  OF  God  abideth  upon  him. 

As  to  the  suggestion  sometimes  made,  espe- 
cially by  weak  and  superficial  writers,  that  con- 
fidently believing  and  pronouncing  the  reception 

*  Fuller's     Calvinistick  and    Socinian    sytema   comparcdt  HJc. 
Letter  10th. 

/ 


m  LETTER  II. 

of  certain  opinions  necessary  to  salvation^  in- 
volves a  claim  approaching^  if  not  amounting,  to 
something  like  papal  infallibility  ;  it  is  really  too 
silly  to  need  a  formal  refutation.  The  plain  im- 
port of  the  suggestion,  is  neither  more  nor  less 
than  this,  that  humhly  to  credit  God's  word,  and 
to  believe  and  pronounce  that  to  be  necessary 
to  salvation,  which  the  great  Author  of  salvation 
has  declared  to  be  so,  is  presumptuously  setting 
up  our  own  notions  as  an  infallible  rule  of  faith. 
If  this  be  reasonable,  or  if  it  deserve  any  respect- 
ful name,  I  know  not  what  deserves  to  be  con- 
sidered as  supremely  preposterous.  If  I  know 
what  the  most  arrogant,  daring,  impious  assump- 
tion of  more  than  ^^  papal  infallibility'^  of  which 
fallen  man  is  capable,  is,  it  is  undertaking  to 
pronounce  that  a  trifle  which  the  infinite  God 
has  pronounced  all-important ;  and  that  unessen- 
tial to  the  safety  of  man,  which  he  has  declared 
to  be  the  foundation  of  all  christian  hope. 

III.  A  THIRD  Prejudice,  closely  allied  with 
the  preceding,  is,  "  that  undertaking  to  denounce 
^'  Unitarianism,  as  not  only  a  dangerous  but  also 
^^  a  destructive  heresy ;  and  to  exclude  those  who 
^^  embrace /^  it  from    our    communion,   and    all 


LETTER  II.  61 

^'  ecclesiastical  intercourse^  is  really  nothing  less 
''  than  PERSECUTION  ;  and  if  so,  contrary  to  the 
'^  spirit  of  the  Gospel.'^  That  we  should  have 
our  own  private  thoughts  of  any  system  of  here- 
sy^ and  should  privately  warn  against  its  fasci- 
nations^ those  with  whom  we  may  have  influence, 
is  acknowledged  by  most  persons  to  be  a  chris- 
tian right ;  but  that  we  should  publickly,  openly, 
alid  continually,  hold  up  a  particular  heresy, 
from  the  pulpit  and  the  press,  as  cmti- christian 
and  destructive^  and  thus  habitually  endeavour  to 
draw  upon  it  the  abhorrence  of  all  who  believe 
our  representations,  is  considered,  even  by  some 
who  are  not  willing  to  be  accounted  friends  of 
the  heresy  in  question,  as  partaking  of  the  na- 
ture of  that  spirit  of  persecution,  which,  as  pro- 
testants,  we  all  profess  to  reprobate.  But  this 
is  a  mere  prejudice,  which  a  little  consideration 
will  serve  effectually  to  remove. 

What  is  persecution,  as  applied  to  the  subject 
of  religion?  It  is  pursuing  men  with  personal 
malignity  and  bitterness,  subjecting  them  to  ci- 
vil penalties,  and  offering  violence  to  their  per- 
sons or  property,  on  account  of  their  religious 
opinions.     Happily  the  government  under  which 


62  LETTER  11. 

God  has  cast  our  lot^  does  not  admit  of  subject- 
ing any  man  to  civil  penalties  on  account  of  his 
religion,  unless  that  religion  lead  him  to  disturb 
the  peace  of  society.  No  violence  can  be  offered 
either  to  the  person  or  the  property  of  any  one, 
for  any  modification  of  religious  belief,  however 
shocking,  as  long  as  he  remains  a  quiet,  orderly 
citizen.  Of  persecution  such  as  this,  no  person, 
it  is  presumed,  in  our  country,  has  any  reason 
to  complain.  But,  supposing  we  may  call, — as  I 
believe  we  may  call — that  man  persecuted,  who, 
on  account  of  his  religious  opinions,  is  loaded 
with  calumny  and  abuse,  hunted  down  with  slan- 
der and  reproachful  names  ;  and  either  shut  out 
from  the  ofiices  of  social  kindness,  or  driven  from 
his  residence,  by  the  unrelenting  intolerance  of 
public  opinion.  In  short,  where  personal  gr 
social  vengeance  is  wreaked  on  the  person  of  a 
supposed  heretick,  instead  of  a  decent  refuta- 
tion of  his  opimons  ;  or  where  even  his  opinions 
are  visited  with  a  violence  and  outrage,  incon- 
sistent with  the  laws  of  christian  benevolence — 
there  is  "  persecution.'^  Publick  sentiment, 
and  individual  abuse,  may,  no  doubt,  as  really 
persecute,  as  the  magistrate,  who  spjills  the  blood, 
incarcerate^  the  body,  or  seizes  the  property  of 


LETTER  II.  63 

an  alledged  heretick.  But  is  any  individual  or 
community  in  our  country,  chargeable  with  per- 
secution even  of  this  kind  ?  I  know  of  no  exam- 
ple of  it ;  andj  unless  I  am  deceived,  should  be 
as  ready  to  join  in  heartily  condemning  it,  as  any 
Unitarian  in  the  land. 

Is  it  "  persecution'^  to  pronounce  a  set  of  opin- 
ions unscriptural,  and  destructive  to  the  souls  of 
men,  if  we  really  think  them  so  ?  Is  it  '^  perse- 
cution'^  to  warn  those  around  us  against  a  here- 
sy which  we  unfeignedly  believe  that  the  Holy 
Ghost  hath  pronounced  "  damnable  ?"  Then  no 
man  can  preach  the  gospel  with  fidelity  without 
being  a  persecutor.  Nay,  if  this  be  so,  no  one  of 
the  inspired  Apostles  ever  did  preach  it  without 
laying  himself  open  to  this  charge.  In  short,  if 
this  principle  be  admitted,  it  is  persecution  to 
warn  our  neighbours  against  a  prowling  thief,  a 
secret  incendiary,  or  a  midnight  assassin.  But 
can  any  man  reconcile  such  a  doctrine  with 
scripture,  or  even  common  sense  ?  In  denounc 
ing  Unitarianism,  then,  and  in  opposing  it  with 
scriptural  weapons,  we  humbly  conceive,  we  are 
not  liable  to  the  charge  of  persecution.  We  do 
not  offer  personal  violence  to  its  advocates.     We 


64  LETTER  11. 

have  no  desire  to  injure  them  in  their  secular" 
business,  or  to  deprive  them  of  a  single  comfort 
in  society.  We  should  think  ourselves  guilty  of 
a  baseness  unworthy  of  the  cause  which  we 
plead,  were  we  to  assail  their  private  characters^ 
or  direct  toward  their  persoris  the  language  of  re- 
proach. On  the  contrary,  we  consider  it  as  our 
duty  to  perform  to  them  every  office  of  christian 
benevolence ;  to  be  careful  of  their  good  name  ; 
and  to  be  ready  to  promote  their  temporal  and 
eternal  welfare^  by  all  the  means  in  our  power. 
Nay,  while  we  disclaim  all  hostility  to  their  per-' 
sons,  we  oppose  even  their  opinmis  with  no  other 
weapons  than  those  of  scripture  and  argument. 
Must  we,  notwithstanding,  be  still  branded  as 
•"^  persecutors  V^  Must  it  still  be  often  more 
than  intimated,  that  nothing  but  the  ^'  power"  is 
wanting,  on  the  part  of  Trinitarians,  to  renew 
the  tragedy  of  Sci'vetus  and  others,  in  the  six- 
teenth century  ?  Where  is  the  ''  liberality,'^  the 
justice,  or  even  the  decorum  of  such  charges?  It 
is  difficult  to  repel  them  without  the  use  of 
epithets,  which  the  christian  would  wish  to  ex- 
clude even  itom  his  controversial  vocabulary. 

0 

If  the  notions  of  some  of  our  Unitarian  neigh- 
bours concerning  persecution^  be  correct^   then 


LETTER  II.  65 

they  have  been  themselves,  for  sometime^  in  the 
habit  of  persecuting  the  Orthodox ;  for  they  have 
not  hesitated  to  hold  up  them  and  their  opinions 
to  publick  view  in  a  most  odious  light,  and  to 
ascribe  to  both  a  most  pestiferous  character. 
Again ;  if  these  notions  be  correct,  then,  too, 
Dr.  Priestley^  and  Mr.  Belsham,  and  other 
champions  of  Unitarianism,  were  in  the  constant 
habit,  for  many  years,  and  some  of  them  contin- 
ue in  the  habit,  of  "  persecuting"^  the  Orthodox 
of  Great  Britain^  in  publickly  stigmatizing  them 
as  "  polytheists,*'  ^^  idolaters,'^  and  "blasphe- 
"  mers.''  But  did  the  Orthodox  ever  call  this 
"  persecution  V^  I  never  heard  of  such  a  charge. 
They  were  too  candid  and  too  reasonable  ever 
to  think  of  it.  Nay  more ;  I  have  long  known 
that  the  Pagans  persecuted  the  primitive  Chris- 
tians. But  I  never  supposed  that  the  primitive 
Christians  persecuted  the  Pagans,  under  whose 
government  they  lived  :  yet  they  certainly  did^ 
with  the  utmost  plainness  and  fidelity,  proclaim 
to  their  Pagan  neighbours,  that  Paganism  was  a 
most  false  and  corrupt  system,  poisonous  to  the 
morals,  and  destructive  to  the  souls  of  its  adhe- 
rents.    Was  this  "  persecution  ?'' 

I 


66  LETTER  11. 

And  here  I  am  forcibly  reminded  of  what  oc- 
curred between  the  Christians  and  the  Pagans^ 
in  the  early  periods  of  the  church.  The  Pagans 
had  been  long  accustomed,  without  the  least  dif- 
ficulty, to  tolerate  each  other.  So  obscure  were 
their  views  of  truth,  and  so  slight  their  impres- 
sions of  its  importance,  that  the  prevalent  idea 
among  them  seems  to  have  been,  that  almost  all 
sects  were  equally  right,  and  equally  safe ;  that 
they  all  had  truth  enough  in  their  respective  sys- 
tems to  answer  the  great  purposes  of  religion ; 
and  that,  therefore,  they  ought  to  live  together 
without  the  least  disposition  to  impeach  the 
standing  or  the  prospects  of  each  other.  These 
being  the  current  opinions,  and  the  established 
habits  of  Pagans,  it  might  have  been  expected 
that,  when  Christianity  appeared,  and  began  to 
attract  publick  notice,  they  would  have  regarded 
and  treated  it  with  the  same  indulgence  that 
they  were  accustomed  to  exercise  towards  one 
another.  But  it  proved  to  be  entirely  otherwise. 
The  Christians  were  utterly  prohibited  by  their 
religion  from  acceding  to  that  principle  of  indis- 
criminate reciprocity  with  all  other  sects,  which 
Paganism  allowed.  They  steadfastly  maintai» 
ed,  as  th^    bible   taught    them,    that  all  who 


LETTER  II.  67 

rejected  the  religion  of  Christ,  were  aliens  from 
God:  they  called  upon  all  men  every  where  to 
repent,  to  turn  from  their  dumb  idols,  and  carnal 
ordinances,  and  to  believe  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  for  salvation ;  and  proclaimed,  that  all 
who  failed  to  comply  with  this  command,  incur- 
red the  most  dreadful  guilt  and  danger;  and, 
continuing  so,  must  perish  eternally.  The 
blinded  Pagans  construed  this  honest  fidelity, 
on  the  part  of  christians,  into  an  evidence  of 
enmity  to  mankind.  Their  holy  zeal  in  beseech- 
ing men  to  flee  fiom  the  wrath  to  come,  was 
considered  as  indicating  a  malignant  spirit ;  and 
that  which  ought  to  have  been  recognized  as  the 
purest  benevolence,  was  reviled  as  the  bitterest 
and  most  merciless  bigotry !  The  consequences 
were  melancholy.  Both  government  and  people 
persecuted  the  christians  with  unrelenting  fury ; 
they  were  hunted  like  beasts  of  prey ;  their 
blood  flowed  in  every  direction ;  and  that  they 
were  not  exterminated  from  the  earth,  was  not 
owing  to  the  charity  or  the  forbearance  of  those 
whom  they  sought  to  save. 

Such  has  been  the  spirit  of  the  enemies  of  the 
truth  in  all  ages  ;  and  such  it  is  at  this  hour. 


6S  LETTER  II. 

To  every  form  of  error  they  are  indulgent. 
When  any  modification  of  heresy  presents  itself, 
however  widely  it  may  differ  from  their  own,  it 
appears  as  if  the  milk  of  kindness  v/ere  the  very 
element  of  their  souls.  Even  the  tenets  of  the 
mortal  deist,  though  allowed  to  be  erroneous  and 
to  be  deplored,  are  yet  spoken  of  in  the  lan- 
guage of  forbearance  and  commiseration,  rather 
than  of  heavy  censure,  or  of  solemn  warning. 
But  let  Orthodoxy  make  her  appearance  ;  and 
however  mild  her  language,  or  respectful  her 
address,  not  only  the  frown  of  disapprobation 
is  visible ;  but  all  the  vials  of  wrath  are  poured 
cut  upon  her.  She  is  loaded  with  opprobrious 
epithets  ;  and  appears  to  be  really  regarded  as 
the  most  odious  and  dangerous  of  all  adversaries. 

i  do  not  say  that  all  who  are  called  Unitarians 
manifest  this  temper  towards  Orthodoxy.  But 
I  do  say,  without  fear'of  contradiction,  that  this 
spirit  of  ancient  Paganism  is  very  strikingly  ex- 
hibited by  the  great  majority  of  those  Unitarians 
with  whose  persons  or  writings  I  have  been  ac- 
quainted. They  have  appeared  willing  to  tole- 
rate every  thing  excepting  the  truth.  But  when 
Christ  wa^  to  be  opposed,  or  his  truth  sacrificed, 


LETTER  II.  69 

Herod  and  Pilate^  by  whatever  names  they  were 
called,  have  been  ever  ready  to  make  friends 
together.  On  this  fact  I  make  no  further  com- 
ment You  will  judge  for  yourselves  whether 
it  is  characteristick  of  the  spirit  of  truth,  or  of 
the  spirit  of  error. 

After  all,  it  cannot  be  denied,  that  Orthodoxy, 
both  in  her  doctrinal  opinions,  and  her  practical 
spirit,  has  been  considered,  in  all  ages,  ])y  Uni- 
tarians, and  indeed  by  the  children  of  this  world 
generally,  as  austere,  bigotted,  and  even  intoler- 
ant. So  it  was,  as  every  one  may  see  from  the 
New  Testament,  in  the  days  of  Paul ;  So  it  was 
in  the  days  of  Irenaeus,  Tei^tullian  and  Cyprian. 
So  it  was  when  the  Waldenses  exhibited  their 
testimony  in  the  cause  of  holiness,  as  well  as  of 
ti^uth.  So  it  is  at  the  present  day ;  and  so  it 
must  be  in  the  very  nature  of  things.  In  the 
eyes  of  a  dissipated  and  profligate  child,  the 
most  affectionate  parent  who  wishes  to  restrain 
and  reform  him,  is  an  enemy  to  his  happiness ; 
his  commands  are  unreasonable,  and  his  controul 
hateful  tyranny.  In  the  view  of  the  lawless  in- 
vader of  the  publick  peace,  the  conscientious 
and  faithful  magistrate,  who  loves   and  enforces 


70  ,  LETTER  II. 

the  principles  of  social  order,  appears  an  odi- 
ous despot;  a  foe  to  all  rational  enjoyment. 
For  this  I  know  of  no  remedy,  but  the  conver- 
sion of  the  deluded.  When  his  eyes  are  opened, 
THEN  and  not  before,  he  will  see,  that  what  he 
thought  tyranny,  was  benevolent  regulation; 
and  what  he  loathed,  as  unfriendly  to  enjoy- 
ment, was  most  directly  fitted  to  promote  his 
temporal  as  well  as  his  eternal  happinesse 


lETTER  m. 


Subject  continued — Fourth  prejudice^ — against  every  thing 
Mysterious  in  religion — Fifth  prejudice,^-^the  Authority 
of  Great  J\*ames, 

Christian  Brethren^ 

I  have  not  yet  done  with  the  Prejudices  which 
set  themselves  in  array  against  humble  and  can- 
did  inquiry  on  the  subject  in  which  we  are  en- 
gaged.    Two  more  remain  to  be  considered. — 

IV.  The  Fourth  which  I  shall  mention  is, 
the  disposition  in  multitudes  to  revolt  at  the 

SUGGESTION  OF  ANY  THING  MYSTERIOUS  IN  RE- 
LIGION. This  prejudice  and  outcry  against 
MYSTERY,  are  among  the  weapons  which  Unita- 
rians most  frequently  employ  against  Ortho- 
doxy ;  and  at  which  many  who  call  themselves 
Orthodox  are  often  perplexed,  and  at  a  loss  to 
answer.  The  substance  of  the  objection  com- 
monly made  on  this  subject,  may  be  thus 
expressed — 


72  ,     LETTER  III. 

'^  The  term  Revelation  is  only  applicable  to 
^^  those  things  which  are  made  known^  conse- 
^^qnently  which  ar£_  brought  down  to  a  level 
'^  with  our  reason^  that  is^  which  may  be  com- 
*^  pr  eh  ended.  What  is  not  brought  down  to  a 
"  level  with  our  rational  powers,  cannot  be  un~ 
''  derstood,  and  of  course^,  is  no  revelation  to  us. 
"  Did  the  Gospel  really  contain  doctrines  above 
''  reason,  it  would,  so  far,  cease  to  be  a  divine 
"  revelation.  We  may  also  safely  conclude,  that, 
*•  as  the  Gospel  w as  originally  preached  to  the 
••  poor,  and  intended  more  especially  for  them ; 
"•  as  it  is  a  revelation  to  babes  in  knowledge,  it 
*•  cannot  be  supposed  to  contain  any  mysterious 
^^  or  incomprehensible  doctrine.  Nay,  to  be- 
^'  lieve  a  doctrine  which  we  cannot  comprehend, 
*•  is  impossible  and  absurd.  We  may  say  we 
•*  believe  it ;  but  we  cannot  really  believe  it,  be- 
"  cause  we  know  not  what  it  is.  And  if  we  say 
'*  we  believe  what  we  do  not  understand,  we,  in 
*'fact,  say  we  believe  we  know  not  what;  and 
"  how,  in  that  case,  are  we  either  to  explain  or 
"  give  a  reason  for  what  we  believe.  It  is  im- 
^^  possible.  Where  Mystery  begins,  faith  and 
"  religion  end.'' 


LETTER  III.  73 

The  first  remark  which  I  have  to  offer  on  this 
pfeasoning,  which,  in  truth,  scarcely  deserves  to 
be  called  plausible,  is,  that  if  it  prove  any  thing, 
it  proves  by  far  too  much.  It  will  banish  from 
the  list  of  credible  things  many  articles  of  belief;, 
which  no  man  in  his  senses  thinks  of  doubting, 
much  less  of  rejecting*  In  fact,  upon  the  princi- 
ple of  the  reasoning  just  detailed,  a  man  can 
believe  nothing,  or  next  to  nothing ;  for,  assu- 
redly, there  is  nothing  either  in  nature  or  in 
grace,  either  in  creation  or  in  providence, 
which  he  can  fully  explain.  Mystery  surrounds 
us ;  it  besets  our  path,  wherever  we  go ;  and 
4)n  every  subject  that  comes  before  our  minds, 
physical  or  moral,  after  we  proceed  a  very  few 
steps,  we  are  met  by  impenetrable  mystery. 
The  facts  are  indubitable,  but  the  manner  in 
which  they  exist  as  facts,  the  process  by  which 
they  are  brought  about,  and  the  reasons  of  that 
process,  are  alike  wholly  unknown.  The  truth 
is,  it  is  only  allowed  to  man  in  the  present  state 
to  perceive  effects;  to  observe  facts;  to  ar- 
range them  in  the  best  order,  and  to  make  the 
best  deductions  from  them,  that  he  can ;  that  he 
may  foresee  how  far  similar  effects  may  be  ex- 
pected in  given  circumstances,  and  thus  be  able 

K 


74  LETTER  III. 

to  apply  them  to  purposes  of  practical  utility. 
He  can  do  no  more.  He  may  talk  in  proud  and 
pompous  language  of  unfolding  and  explaining 
the  secrets  of  nature,  and  may  sometimes  ima- 
gine that  he  has  really  done  so :  but  it  is  an 
entire  mistake.  Still  all  that  he  knows  is  a  few 
facts.  Of  the  essence  of  things,  or  of  the  nature 
of  causation^  in  any  case,  he  knows  nothing — 
literally  nothing. 

To  reveal^  then,  does  not  signify  in  all  cases, 
or,  indeed,  in  almost  any  case,  to  explain.  Any 
thing  may  be  revealed,  and  remain  a  profound 
mystery  still.  When  the  discoverer  of  the  Mag- 
net brought  to  light  a  series  of  facts  concerning 
that  wonderful  influence,  he  may  be  said  to  have 
revealed  to  men  a  knowledge  of  them.  But  did 
he  explain  them  ?  Have  they  ever  been  explain- 
ed to  the  present  hour  ?  Why  does  the  m  ague  tick 
needle  point  to  the  poles  ?  Why  does  it,  in  any 
case,  deviate  from  the  true  meridian  ?  Why  do 
some  of  its  known  and  registered  laws  differ  so 
entirely  from  those  of  all  other  substances  with 
which  we  are  acquainted?  To  these  inquiries 
the  most  acute  philosophers  have  nothing  to  re- 
ply.   The  principles  upon  which  the  phenomena 


LETTER  III.  75 

in   question    rest,    are    still   hidden   from  our 
view,  by  a  veil  which  no  man  has  been  able  to 
penetrate.     Yet  no  man  thinks  of  doubting  the 
facts  alluded  to,  or  of  questioning  the  great  util- 
ity of  the  knowledge  of  them  to  mankind.    And^ 
for  any  thing  we  know,  both  the  persons  and  the 
property  of  men,   may  be   transported  across 
oceans  just  as  safely,  and  as  expeditiously,  with 
our  present  scanty  knowledge,  as  if  we  were  able 
to  go  to  the  bottom  of  the  subject.  In  like  manner, 
the  wind  bloweth  where  it  listeth^  and  xve  hear 
the  sound  thereof;    but  whence  it  cometh^   or 
whither  it  goeth  ;  what  is  the  source  of  its  end- 
less variations,  and  what  the  rules,  if  there  be 
any,   by  which    we    might  calculate    them,  no 
student  of  this  branch  of  natural  history,  that  I 
have  ever  heard  of,  (though  some  of  the  shrewd- 
est and  closest  observers  that  ever  lived  have 
been  busy  on  the  subject  for  near  sixty  centu- 
ries) has  hitherto  imagined  he  was  able  to  tell. 
But,  while  all  this  is  covered  with  mystery,  the 
mariner  spreads  his  canvass  to  the  gale  without 
hesitation,  and  receives  all  the  benefit  of  its  im- 
pulse, in  traversing  the  deep,  perhaps  just  as 
well,  as  if  he  knew  all  that  is  knowable  on  the 
subject.     The  same  train  of  remark  might  be 


76  XBTTER  IM. 

applied  to  Electricity  and  Chemistry,  each  of 
which  is  really  a  little  world  of  mysteries ;  and 
of  hoth  which  all  that  we  can  say  is,  that  an  as- 
semblage of  facts  is  revealed,  or  made  known  ; 
but  that  we  are  not  able  to  explain  one  of  them, 
or  approach  to  an  explanation. 

Again ;  does  any  one  doubt  the  propriety  of 
saying  that  many  of  the  attributes  of  God  are 
revealed  to  us  in  his  word  ?  Yet  no  one  means 
by  this  that  revelation  enables  us  to  comprehend 
them ;  but  only  that  it  asserts  the  fact  that  such 
perfections  exist  in  Jehovah,  and  makes  a  prac- 
tical application  of  them.  For  example,  that 
God  is  OMNIPRESENT,  rcvclatiou  distinctly  and 
frequently  affirms.  But  does  it  explain  this 
attribute  of  the  Supreme  Being?  Does  any 
man  think  of  comprehending  it  ?  Should  we  not 
consider  that  man  as  insane,  who  should  talk  of 
being  able  to  comprehend  it  ?  What  do  we  mean, 
then,  when  we  say  that  this  doctrine  is  revealed? 
We  certainly  mean  nothing  more  than  that  we 
are  assured  the  fact  exists,  as  before  suggested. 
In  like  manner,  the  Unitarians,  as  well  as  the 
Orthodox,  are  accustomed  to  say,  that  the  scrip- 
tures reveal  a  future  world  of  bliss  and  glory^ 


LETTER  III.  77 

prepared  for  the  righteous,  after  death;  and 
also  inform  us  that  the  happiness  of  that  world 
will  exceed  our  highest  conceptions.  But  do  we 
comprehend  that  exceeding  and  eternal  weight 
of  glory  ?  How  does  the  disembodied  spirit, 
after  death,  travel  to  that  world  ?  How  does  it 
perceive  and  enjoy  the  unutterable  glories  of 
heaven,  without  bodily  organs,  which  are  the 
inlets  to  our  principal  pleasures,  and  the  instru- 
ments by  which  the  soul  acts,  in  the  present 
life  ?  How  will  all  the  activity,  and  the  inter- 
course, and  the  services  of  that  exalted  state  be 
carried  an  ?  Above  all,  what  is  comprehended  in 
seeing  God  face  to  face^  and  knowing  as  we  are 
known  P  I  profess  not  to  be  able  to  explain  one 
of  these  glorious  realities ;  while  yet  we  all  ad- 
mit that  the  general  facts  are  undoubtedly 
^^  revealed."  These  things  are  not,  indeed^ 
incomprehensible  in  their  own  nature ;  but  only 
by  us,  as  long  as  we  are  in  the  body.  Glorified 
saints  comprehend  them  entirely;  and  so  will 
saints  now  on  earth,  by  and  by,  when  their 
faculties  are  enlarged.  But  even  glorified  saints 
are,  probably,  not  able  to  comprehend  many 
things  which  are  easily  comprehended  by  Ga- 
briel.  But  as  God  is  a  Being  who  has  no  parallel 


78  LETTER  IIL 

in  the  Universe;  and  as  our  knowledge  of  all 
beings  must  be  derived  through  the  medium  of 
analogy,  that  is  by  means  of  some  other  being, 
with  which  we  are  more  familiar ;  so  it  is  cer- 
tain that,  to  eternity,  the  most  exalted  creature 
will  see  many  glories  in  Jehovah  which  he  will 
be  forever  unable  to  comprehend. 

Now,  to  apply  all  this  to  the  case  in  hand.  We 
say,  that  the  one  only  living  and  true  God  exists 
in  a  Trinity  of  Persons — tiie  Father,  the  Son, 
and  the  Holy- Ghost ;  that  the  Father  is  of  none, 
neither  begotten  nor  proceeding ;  that  the  Son 
is,  in  a  mysterious  manner,  eternally  begotten 
of  the  Father,  and  is  a  Divine  Person,  equal 
with  the  Father ;  that  the  Holy- Ghost  is  also  a 
Divine  Person,  proceeding  from  the  Father  and 
the  Son,  from  all  eternity ;  and  that  these  Three 
are  One,  the  same  in  substance,  equal  in  power 
and  glory.  We  think  that  the  scriptures  reveal 
this  mode  of  the  Divine  existence,  that  is,  de- 
clare the  fact,  without  explaining  it ;  and,  on  the 
authority  of  scripture  alone,  we  believe  the 
fact,  simply  as  revealed,  while  we  confess  our- 
selves utterly  unable  to  comprehend  it.  We  do 
not  suppose  that  any  man  on  earth  ever  did, 


tETTER  III.  79 

or  ever  can,  understand  this  august  mystery. 
Whether  glorified  spirits,  or  angels  around 
the  throne  of  God  comprehend  it,  we  pretend 
not  to  conjecture;  although  we  have  no  doubt 
that  many  things  relating  to  the  Divine  mode  of 
existence  will  be,  to  the  most  exalted  principali- 
ties and  powers  in  heaven,  entirely  and  forever 
incomprehensible  ;  and  for  any  thing  we  can  tell 
to  the  contrary,  that  under  consideration  may  be 
among  the  number. 

But,  however  mysterious  this  fact,  as  to  the 
mode  of  the  Divine  existence  may  be,  it  is  not 
more  incomprehensible  than  the  Divine  Omni- 
presence, and  other  attributes  of  the  Godhead, 
which  are  revealed  in  scripture,  and  which  Uni- 
tarians no  more  than  others  ever  think  of  calling 
in  question.  It  is  said  to  be  utterly  incredible 
that  any  being  should  be  One  and  Three  at  the 
same  time.  There  is  said  to  be  an  absurdity — 
a  self-evident,  mathematical  absurdity,  in  the 
very  proposition;  and  no  one,  our  opponents 
alledge,  can  be  required  to  believe  that  which  is, 
in  the  very  nature  of  things,  and  in  terms,  a 
manifest  absurdity.  They  confess  that  we  may 
believe,  that  which  is  above  reason,  but  not  that 


80  LETTER  III. 

which  is  plainly  and  undoubtedly  contrary  ta 
reason.  But  does  not  all  this  presumptuous  lan- 
guage arise  from  our  venturing  to  do^  what  the 
scriptures  expressly  and  strongly  condemn, 
viz.  considering  God  as  a  being  altogether  such 
an  one  as  ourselves?  When  the  Most  High 
speaks  of  himself  to  mortals^  it  must  be  in  the 
language  of  mortals.  But  shall  we  not  certainly 
and  greatly  err  if  we  interpret  that  language  as 
meanings  when  applied  to  Jehovah,  the  same 
thing  that  it  means  when  applied  to  ourselves  ? 
Yet  is  not  this  error  the  foundation  of  the  whole 
objection?  When  it  is  objected  that  the  doctrine 
of  the  Trinity  is  contrary  to  reason,  what  is 
meant  ?  Does  the  objector  mean,  that  the  doc- 
trine is  contrary  to  the  nature  of  things ;  con- 
trary to  reason,  as  it  exists  in  the  infinite  and 
eternal  Mind  ?  If  this  be  his  meaning,  the  asser- 
tion is  utterly  denied.  He  does  not  understand 
what  the  nature  of  things  is ;  and,  of  course,  is 
not  qualified,  unless  to  a  very  small  extent,  to 
pronounce  what  is,  or  is  not,  contrary  to  it. 
Until  he  is  able  to  comprehend  the  nature  of 
ALL  THINGS,  and  among  others,  of  God  him- 
self, he  surely  ought  to  be  cautious  in  pro- 
nouncing what  is  irreconcileable  with  reason. 


LETTER  TIL  81 

But  if  he  mean,  that  the  doctrine  in  question  is 
contrary  to  his  reason ; — contrary  to  his  narrow, 
unphilosophical  prejudices,  which  render  him 
unwilling  to  allow  any  thing  in  God  which  he 
does  not  perceive  in  himself,  or  in  creatures, — 
then,  it  may  indeed  be  so,  that  the  doctrine  in 
question  cannot  be  reconciled  with  such  reason ; 
but  this,  I  humbly  conceive,  will  be  no  solid 
objection  to  it  with  any  reasonable  man. 

On  account  of  the  poverty  of  language,  we 
are  obliged  to  express  our  ideas  of  the  Divine 
simplicity  by  the  term  Unity.  Perhaps  it  is 
the  best  word  for  the  purpose  that  language 
affords.  But  before  any  one  undertakes  to  de- 
cide that  a  Trinity  of  Persons  in  God  is  incon- 
sistent with  the  Divine  Unity,  he  ought  to  be 
able  to  tell  us  what  Unity  is.  But  is  any  man 
able  to  do  this?  Most  people  are,  probably, 
ready  to  suppose,  at  first  view,  that  this  is  an 
easy  task ;  that  the  idea  expressed  by  this  word 
is  so  plain,  simple,  and  perfectly  intelligible, 
that  there  is  no  difficulty  in  defining  it  aright. 
But  I  suspect  that  the  more  an  enlightened 
and  acute  mind  contemplates  the  subject,  the 
more  he  will  be  inclined  to  believe,  that,  like  the 

L 


82  LETTER  III. 

subject  of  personal  identity^  and  some  others  of 
similar  character^  there  is  a  difficulty  in  compre- 
hending and  stating  it,  which  is  almost,  if  not 
altogether  insuperable.  An  individual  man  is 
one ; — yet  he  is  made  up  of  soul  and  body,  and 
some  say  of  a  third  part,  called  spirit;  each 
having  its  distinct  and  appropriate  nature.  But 
does  this  two-fold,  or  three-fold  nature  interfere 
with  his  unity  ?  I  presume  no  one  will  suppose 
it  does.  But  why  not,  on  the  principle  of  the 
objection  which  I  am  repelling?  A  machine  is 
one,  though  made  up  of  a  number  of  parts.  In 
what  sense  is  Unity  applied  here  ?  A  Legisla- 
tive body  is  one,  though  composed  of  many 
members.  What  is  meant  by  unity  in  this  case  ? 
We  are  accustomed  to  say,  and  I  believe  that, 
in  mechanical  philosophy,  it  is  a  true  saying, 
that  more  than  one  substance  cannot  occupy  the 
same  space  at  the  same  time  ?  But  are  we  sure 
that  this  axiom  has  any  application  to  spirit — 
jand,  above  all,  that  it  applies  to  that  Infinite 
Spirit,  who  is  every  where  equally  present  ?  In 
short,  if  we  cannot  tell  what  Unity  means ;  if 
we  find  ourselves  utterly  perplexed  when  we 
undertake  to  define  what  Oneness,  in  the  ab- 
stract,  implies,  and    especially  what  it  means 


LETTER  III. 


83 


when  ascribed  to  the  great  Eternal,  who  is 
exalted  above  all  blessing,  and  all  praise ;  we 
surely  cannot  be  prepared  to  decide  how  far  a 
Trinity  of  Persons  in  the  Divine  Essence  is  in- 
consistent with  it,  and  involves  any  thing  like  an 
absurdity  or  contradiction. 

But  further ;  suppose  we  were  able  to  com- 
prehend and  define  perfectly  what  Unity  means, 
and  to  remove  every  difficulty  on  that  score; 
has  any  Trinitarian  ever  said  that  the  Deity  is 
07ie  in  the  same  sense  in  which  He  is  three  ?  If 
any  thing  of  this  kind  had  ever  been  asserted,  it 
might  be  called  a  contradiction.  But  this,  it  is 
well  known,  is  explicitly  disavowed,  and  the 
contrary  asserted,  by  all  sober  believers  in  the 
doctrine  of  the  Trinity ;  and  how  far  it  is  consis- 
tent with  candour  and  honesty,  in  disputants  on 
the  Unitarian  side,  to  be  perpetually  recurring 
to  an  implied  charge  on  this  subject,  for  which 
there  is  no  foundation,  I  shall  not  at  present 
stop  to  inquire.  Let  it  be  distinctly  understood, 
then,  that  when  Trinitarians  say  there  are  three 
Persons  in  the  Godhead,  they  do  not  by  any 
means  intend  to  say,  that  God  is  thj^ee  and  one  in 
the  same  sense.    The  Unity  refers  to  one  respect. 


84  LETTER  III. 

the  Trinity  to  another.  How  this  is  to  be  ex- 
plained, they  do  not  pretend  to  know,  or  even 
to  have  an  opinion.  They  consider  it  as  their 
duty,  simply  and  humbly  to  receive  the  fact,  as 
a  great  mystery,  without  presuming  to  compre- 
hend it,  or  to  attempt  a  developement  of  the 
manner  in  which  the  fact  exists ;  just  as  they 
receive  the  fact  of  the  Divine  Omnipresence,  or 
of  the  blessedness  of  heaven ;  although  the  same 
Bible  which  reveals  these  facts,  declares  that 
they  are  both  far  beyond  the  reach  of  our  minds. 

But  it  will,  perhaps,  be  asked,  what  we  mean 
when  we  say,  there  are  three  Persons  in  the 
Godhead  ?  What  kind  of  distinction  is  that 
which  is  expressed  by  the  word  Person  ?  We 
frankly  answer,  we  do  not  know.  We  find  a 
certain  three-fold  mode  of  existence  in  the  Deity 
frequently  referred  to  in  Scripture,  but  not  ex- 
plained; it  may  be  because  it  is  not  possible 
adequately  to  explain  it  to  creatures  in  our  situ- 
ation ;  perhaps  not  even  to  any  created  being. 
There  is  an  essential  poverty  in  all  human  lan- 
guage, when  we  attempt  to  speak  of  the  proper- 
ties of  spirits,  and  more  especially  when  we 
speak  concerning  the  most  Exalted  and  Incom- 


LETTER  III.  g5 

prehensible  of  all  Spirits.  The  term  Person 
has  been  employed  in  the  Church  of  Christ,  to  y 
express  the  distinction  before  us,  for  many 
centuries.  We  found  it  in  use ;  and  not  know- 
ing a  better  term  for  the  purpose  intended,  we 
have  cheerfully  adopted,  and  continue  to  use  it 
still.  We  by  no  means  understand  it,  however, 
in  a  gross  or  carnal  sense.  We  utterly  deny 
that  we  mean  by  it  three  distinct,  independent 
beings ;  for  we  believe  that  there  is  but  one 
God.  But  we  mean  to  express  by  it  a  certain 
(to  us  mysterious)  three -fold  mode  of  existence, 
in  the  one  living  and  true  God,  which  carries 
with  it  the  idea  of  an  ineffably  glorious  So- 
ciety in  the  Godhead,  and  lays  a  foundation  for 
the  use  of  the  personal  pronouns,  I,  Thou,  He, 
in  that  everblessed  Society.  In  short,  to  employ 
the  language  of  Dr.  Barrow,  we  believe,  ''  That 
^'  there  is  one  Divine  Nature  or  Essence,  com- 
"  mon  to  three  Persons,  incomprehensibly  uni- 
^^ted,  and  ineffably  distinguished;  united  in 
"  essential  attributes,  distinguished  by  peculiar 
''  relations  ;  all  equally  infinite  in  every  Divine 
"  perfection ;  each  different  from  the  other  in 
^'  order  and  manner  of  subsistence  ;  that  there 
"  is  a  mutual  existence  of  One  in  All,  and  All  in 


86  LETTER  IlL 

^^  One ;  a  communication  without  any  depriva- 
^^tion  or  diminution  in  the  communicant;  an 
^^  eternal  generation,  and  an  eternal  procession, 
<^  without  precedence  or  succession,  without  pro- 
''  per  causality  or  dependence ;  a  Father  impar- 
"  ting  his  own,  and  the  Son  receiving  his  Father's 
''  life,  and  a  Spirit  issuing  from  both,  without 
^^any  division  or  multiplication  of  essence. — - 
''  These  are  notions  which  may  well  puzzle  our 
^^  reason  in  conceiving  how  they  agree,  but 
^'  should  not  stagger  our  faith  in  assenting  that 
'^  they  are  true :  upon  which  we  should  medi- 
"  tate,  not  with  hope  to  comprehend,  but  with 
^•dispositions  to  admire;  veiling  our  faces  in 
"  the  presence,  and  prostrating  our  reason  at  the 
^'  feet,  of  Wisdom  so  far  ti'anscending  us/^* 

Nor  ought  it  to  give  rise  to  the  least  difficulty 
in  the  minds  of  any,  that  the  second  Person  of 
the  Trinity  is  called  the  Son  of  God;  that  He  is 
said  to  be  the  only  Begotten  Son^  and  the  eter- 
nally  Begotten,  I  know  that  the  doctrine  of  the 
eternal  generation  of  the  Son  of  God  is  regarded 
by  many  as  implying  a  contradiction  in  terms. 
But  here  again  is  a  most  presumptuous  assump- 

•  Bj^vlilow^s  JDcfetice  of  the  TriniU'.  p.  7.  8, 


LETTER  ill.  87 

tion  of  the  principle,  that  God  is  a  being  altogeth- 
er such  an  one  as  ourselves.  Because  generation 
among  men  necessarily  implies  priority^  in  the 
order  of  time  as  well  as  of  nature,  on  the  part  of 
the  father,  and  derivation  and  poste?'ioriti/  on  the 
part  of  the  son,  the  objection  infers  that  it  must 
also  be  so  in  the  Divine  nature.  But  is  this  a 
legitimate,  is  it  a  rational  inference  ?  It  certainly 
is  not.  That  which  is  true,  as  it  respects  the 
nature  of  man,  may  be  infinitely  removed  from 
the  truth,  as  it  respects  the  eternal  God.  It  has 
been  often  well  observed,  that,  with  regard  to  all 
effects  which  are  voluntary,  the  cause  must  be 
prior  to  the  effect ;  as  the  father  is  to  the  son, 
in  human  generation :  But  that  in  all  that  are 
necessary,  the  effect  must  be  coeval  with  the 
cause ;  as  the  stream  is  with  the  fountain,  and 
light  with  the  sun.  Has  the  sun  ever  existed  a 
moment  w^ithout  sending  out  beams  ?  And  if  the 
sun  had  been  an  eternal  being,  would  there  not 
have  been  an  eternal,  necessary  emanation  of 
light  from  it?  But  God  is  confessedly  eternal. 
Where,  then,  is  the  absurdity  or  contradiction 
of  an  eternal,  necessary  emanation  from  Him,  or. 
if  you  please,  an  eternal  generation, — and  also  an 
eternal  procession  of  the  Holy  Spirit  from  the 


88  LETTER  III. 

Father  and  the  Son  ?  To  deny  the  possibility  of 
thisj  or  to  assert  that  it  is  a  manifest  contradic- 
tion,  either  in  terms  or  ideas^  is  to  assert  that, 
although  the  Father  is  from  all  eternity,  yet  He 
could  not  act  from  all  eternity ;  which,  I  will  ven- 
ture to  assert,  is  as  unphilosophical  as  it  is 
IMPIOUS.  Sonship,  even  among  men,  implies  no 
personal  inferiority.  A  son  may  he  perfectly 
equal,  and  is  sometimes  greatly  superior  to  his 
father,  in  every  desirable  power,  and  quality : 
and,  in  general,  he  does  in  fact  partake  of  the 
same  human  nature,  in  all  its  fullness  and  per- 
fection, with  his  parent.  But,  still,  forsooth,  it 
is  objected,  that  we  cannot  conceive  o^ generation 
in  any  other  sense  than  as  implying  posteriority 
and  derivation.  But  is  not  this  saying,  in  other 
words,  that  the  objector  is  determined,  in  the 
face  of  all  argument,  to  persist  in  measuring  Je- 
hovah by  earthly  and  human  principles  ?  Shall  we 
never  have  done  with  such  a  perverse  begging 
of  the  question,  as  illegitimate  in  reasoning,  as 
it  is  impious  in  its  spirit?  The  scriptures  declare 
that  Christ  is  the  Son,  the  only  begotten  Son  of 
the  Father ;  to  the  Son  the  Father  is  represen- 
ted as  saying,  Thy  throne,  0  God,  is  forever  and 
ever:  and  concerning  himself  the  Son  declares, 


LETTER  III.  8^ 

I  and  my  Father  are  one.  This  is  enough  for  the 
christian's  faith.  He  finds  no  more  difficulty  in 
believing  this,  than  in  believing  that  there  is  an 
eternal;  omniscient  and  omnipresent  Spirit,  who 
made  all  worlds  out  of  nothing,  and  upholds 
them  continually  by  the  word  of  his  power. 

I  am  aware  that  some  who  maintain,  with 
great  zeal,  the  Divinity  and  atonement  of 
Christ,  reject  his  eternal  Sonship^  or  generation^ 
as  being  neither  consistent  with  reason,  nor 
taught  in  scripture.  It  does  not  accord,  either 
with  my  plan  or  my  inclination,  to  spend  much 
time  in  animadverting  on  this  aberration,  for 
such  I  must  deem  it,  from  the  system  of  gospel 
truth.  I  will  only  say  that,  to  me,  the  doctrine 
of  the  eternal  Sonship  of  the  Saviour  appears 
to  be  plainly  taught  in  the  word  of  God,  and  to 
be  a  doctrine  of  great  importance  in  the  economy 
of  salvation.  Of  course,  I  view  those  who  reject 
it,  not  merely  as  in  error,  but  in  very  serious 
error ;  an  error  which,  though  actually  connect- 
ed with  ardent  piety,  and  general  orthodoxy, 
in  many  who  embrace  it,  has,  nevertheless,  a 
very  unhappy  tendency,  and  cannot  fail,  I  fear, 
to  draw  in  its  train  many  mischievoi^s  conse- 

M 


/' 


OO  LETTER  III. 

quences.  If  the  title  Father^  be  the  distinctive 
title  of  the  first  Person  of  the  adorable  Trinity^ 
as  suchy  does  not  the  correlative  title  of  Son 
seem  to  be  called  for  by  the  second  Person,  as 
such  ?  If  the  second  Person  of  the  Trinity  is  not 
to  be  distinguished  by  the  title  of  Son^  what  is 
his  distinguishing  title  ?  By  what  appropriate 
name  are  we  to  know  Him,  as  distinguished 
from  the  other  Persons  ?  In  the  form  of  Bap- 
tism, all  the  friends  of  orthodoxy  grant  that  the 
Father  and  the  Holy  Ghost  are  expressive  of 
divine  personal  distinctions ;  but  if  so,  what 
good  reason  can  be  given  why  the  Son  should  be 
understood  differently  ?  In  short,  my  belief  is, 
that  the  doctrine  of  the  eternal  generation  of  the 
Son,  is  so  closely  connected  with  the  doctrine  of 
the  Trinity,  and  the  Divine  character  of  the 
Saviour,  that  where  the  former  is  generally 
abandoned,  neither  of  the  two  latter  will  be  long 
retained.  I  must  therefore,  warn  you  against . 
the  error  of  rejecting  this  doctrine,  even  though 
it  come  from  the  house  of  a  friend.  It  is  a  mys- 
tery, but  a  precious  mystery,  which  seems  to  be 
essentially  interwoven  with  the  whole  substance, 
as  well  as  language,  of  the  blessed  economy  of 
mercv. 


LETTER  in. 


91 


Concerning  this  eternal  generation  of  the 
Son,  the  early  christian  writers  constantly  de- 
clared that  it  was  firmly  to  be  believed ;  but^ 
at  the  same  time^  that  it  was  presumptuous  to 
attempt  to  inquire  into  the  manner  of  it. 

Irentsus  asserts,  that  "  the  Son,  from  eter- 
^^NiTY,  CO-EXISTED  WITH  THE  Father  ;  and 
^^that  from  the  beginning,  he  always  revealed 
^^the  Father  to  angels,  and  archangels,  and 
^'  principalities  and  powers,  and  all  to  whom  it 
"  pleased  him  to  reveal  him/^* 

Lactantius,  in  his  fourth  book  De  vera  Sapien- 
tia,  says,  "  How,  therefore,  did  the  Father  beget 
"  the  Son  ?  These  divine  works  can  be  known  of 
''  none,  declared  by  none.  But  the  holy  scrip- 
^'  tures  teach  that  He  is  the  Son  of  God,  that 
^^He  is  the  Word  of  God/^ 

Ambrose,  in  his  treatise,  De  Fide,  ad  Gratian- 
um,  speaks  in  the  following  decisive  and  elo- 
quent strain — I  inquire  of  you  "  when  and  how 
"  the  Son  was  begotten  ?  It  is  impossible  for  me 
''  to  know  the  mystery  of  this  generation.     My 

*  Contra  Bareses,  Lib.  II.  cap.  20, 


92  LETTER  III. 

^^  mind  fails  ;  my  tongue  is  silent ;  and  not  only 
^^  mine^  but  the  tongues  of  angels :  it  is  above 
^^  principalities  J  above  angels,  above  the  Cheru- 
<^bim,  above  the  Seraphim,  above  all  understan- 
^^  ding.  Lay  thine  hand  upon  thy  mouth.  It  is 
^^  not  lawful  to  search  into  these  heavenly  mys- 
^^  teries.  It  is  lawful  to  know  that  He  was  born, 
<^but  not  lawful  to  examine  how  he  was  born. 
<*'  The  former  I  dare  not  deny  ;  the  latter  I  am 
^'  afraid  to  inquire  into.  For  if  Paul,  when  he 
^^was  taken  up  into  the  third  heaven,  affirms 
^^  that  the  things  which  he  heard  could  not  be 
^^  uttered,  how  can  we  express  the  mystery  of 
^^  the  Divine  Generation,  which  we  can  neither 
^^  understand  nor  see  V^ 

Let  not,  then,  my  Christian  Brethren,  the 
eharge  of  "  mystery,"  or  the  cant  proverb,  that 
"  where  mystery  begins,  faith  and  religion  end,-'' 
in  the  least  move  you.  That  mystery  should  be 
readily  allowed  to  exist  every  where  in  God's 
Creation,  and  in  God's  Providence,  and  at  the 
same  time  be  unceremoniously  rejected  from 
God's  Revelation/\s  indeed  more  than  strange  ! 
That  creatures  who  acknowledge  that  the  na- 
ture of  God  is  infinitely  unlike,  and  infinitely 


LETTER  III.  93 

above,  that  of  any  other  being  in  the  Universe ; 
and  that  their  own  share  of  reason  is  so  small 
that  they  can  scarcely  think  or  speak  intelligibly 
about  it^  or  so  much  as  define  their  own  faculties 
of  reasoning ;  should  yet  refuse  to  believe  any 
thing  of  Jehovah  whicli  does  not  accord  with 
human  notions ;  is^  surely,  as  weak  and  irrational 
as  it  is  presumptuous.  But  that  creatures  who 
confess  themselves  to  be  miserable  sinners,  lying 
at  the  footstool  of  mercy,  and  standing  in  need 
of  a  revelation  from  God,  to  teach  them,  what 
they  could  not  otherwise  know,  concerning  his 
perfections,  and  the  way  of  acceptance  with  Him ; 
should  yet,  when  they  acknowledge  that  such  a 
Revelation  has  been  given,  undertake  to  sit  in 
judgment  upoii  it,  and  to  reject  such  parts  of  it 
as  are  above  the  grasp  of  their  disordertjd  and 
enfeebled  reason ;  argues  a  degree  of  daring  and 
infatuated  impiety,  which,  if  it  were  not  so  com- 
mon, we  should  be  ready  to  say  could  not  exist. 
Wherein  does  it  essentially  differ  from  that  tem- 
per by  which  "  angels  became  apostate  spirits  V' 

In  truth,  when  men  once  begin  to  indulge  in 
this  disposition  to  reject  from  revelation  that 
which  they  cannot  comprehend^  they  not  only 


94  LETTER  III. 

cherish  a  temper  hostile  to  piety ;  but  they  ven- 
ture upon  a  stream  which  will  land  them  they 
know  not  where.  I  referred^  in  a  preceding 
page,  to  the  Omnipresence  and  Omniscience  of 
God,  as  attributes  which  all  who  bear  the  Chris- 
tian name  are  ready  to  acknowledge.  But  you 
will,  perhaps,  be  surprised  to  learn  that  this 
representation  was  not  strictly  correct.  The 
fact  is,  that  both  these  perfections  of  God,  as 
well  as  his  Eternity,  his  Immensity  and  his 
Spirituality,  have  been  virtually  called  in  ques- 
tion by  some  Unitarians  ;  on  the  principle  that 
our  reason  could  not  comprehend  them.  On  the 
same  ground,  also,  they  have  denied  that  the 
creation  of  all  things  out  of  nothing  is  credible. 
Now  my  remark  on  this  reasoning  is,  not  that 
there  is  any  inconsistency  in  it ;  for,  conceding 
to  them  their  fundamental  principle,  that  noth* 
ing  incomprehensible  is  to  be  believed,  all  the 
Divine  perfections  which  have  been  alluded  to, 
and  several  others,  must  be  drawn  into  doubt, 
or  totally  rejected. 

Accordingly,  the  progress  which  this  compen- 
dious mode  of  disposing  of  the  mysteries  of 
revelation  has  made  among  the  Unitarian  the- 


LETTER  III.  95 

ologians  and  criticks  of  Germany,  affords  a  sol- 
emn warning.  Once  they  stood  substantially  on 
the  same  ground  with  the  body  of  the  Unitarians 
in  this  country ;  and  would  have  been  shocked  at 
the  thought  of  going  to  the  length  in  scepticism 
at  which  they  are  now  found.  But,  proceeding 
step  by  step,  many  of  them  have  come  to  reject 
from  the  Bible,  all  mysteries,  and  all  mira- 
cles. In  their  view,  the  Mosaic  account  of  the 
Creation,  is  a  mere  poetical  fable ;  the  delivery 
of  the  Law  on  Mount  Sinaiy  a  dexterous  man- 
agement of  a  thunder  storm ;  the  whole  Jewish 
ritual,  a  mere  contrivance  of  ingenious  super- 
stition ;  and  the  effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit  on 
the  day  of  Pentecost,  nothing  more  than  a  gust 
of  wind,  accompanied  by  an  unusual  excitement 
of  electric  fluid !  This  is  the  natural  course  of 
the  Unitarian  doctrine  respecting  mysteries. 
Some  serious  men  among  them  may,  and  no 
doubt  do,  abhor  what  they  would  call  such  impi- 
ous extremes ;  but  others  will  probably  soon  be 
found  following  the  German  example ;  and  the 
next  generation  will  perhaps  find  the  majority 
of  American  Unitarians  standing  on  German 
ground.  Such  is  the  deceitfulness  of  error ;  and 
so  great  the  danger  resulting  from  the  adoption 
of  one  corrupt  principle ! 


96  LETTER  III. 

The  following  quotation  from  an  eminent  Di- 
vine^ and  truly  eloquent  Preacher^  is  so  much  to 
my  purpose^  and  so  admirably  expresses  what  I 
wish  to  communicate  on  this  branch  of  the  sub- 
ject^ that  I  make  no  apology  for  closing  with  it 
what  I  have  to  say  oh  the  mysteries  of  revelation. 

^'  This  grandeur  of  God  removes  the  greatest 
^^  stumbling  blocks  that  sceptics  and  infidels  pre- 
^^tend  to  meet  with  in  religion.  It  justifies  all 
^^  those  dark  mysteries  which  are  above  the 
^^comprehension  of  our  feeble  reason.  We 
^^  would  not  make  use  of  this  reflection  to  open 
^^  a  way  for  human  fancies^  or  to  authorize  every 
^^  thing  that  is  presented  to  us  under  the  idea  of 
^^  the  marvellous.  All  doctrines  that  are  incom- 
^'  prehensible,  are  not '  divine ;  nor  ought  we  to 
^^  embrace  any  opinion  merely  because  it  is  be- 
^^  yond  our  knowledge.  But  when  a  religion  m 
^'  other  respects  has  good  guarantees ;  when  we 
^'  have  good  arguments  to  prove  that  such  a  rev- 
^*^  elation  comes  from  heaven  ;  when  we  certainly 
'^  know  that  it  is  God  who  speaks ;  ought  we  to 
^^  be  surprised  if  ideas  of  God  which  come  so 
^^ fully  authenticated^  absorb  and  confound  us? 
^^  I  freely  grant,  that,  had  I  consulted  my  own 


LETTER  III.  97 

"  reason  only,  I  could  not  have  discovered  some 
^'  mysteries  of  the  Gospel.     Nevertheless,  when 
''  I  think  on  the  grandeur  of  God ;  when  I  cast 
'''  my  eyes  on  that  vast  Ocean  ;  when  I  consider 
''  that    immense   All ;    nothing   astonishes   me, 
^^  nothing  stumbles  me,  nothing  seems  to  me  in- 
^^  admissible,    how     incomprehensible   soever  it 
"  may  be.     When  the   subject  is   Divine,  I  am 
"  ready  to  believe  all,  to  admit  all,  to  receive 
"  all ;  provided  I  be  convinced  that  it  is   God 
''  himself  who  speaks  to  me,  or  any  one  on  his 
^^part.     After   this,   I  am  no  more   astonished 
^^that  there  are  three  distinct  Persons  in  one 
"  Divine   Essence :    one  God,  and   yet  a  Fath- 
"  er,  a  Son,  and  a  Holy  Ghost.     After  this  I  am 
"  no  more  astonished  that  God  foresees  all  with- 
"  out  forcing  any ;  permits  sin  without  forcing 
'^  the  sinner ;  ordains  free  and  intelligent  crea- 
"  tures  to  such  and  such  ends,  yet  without  des- 
^^troying    their    intelligence  or  their    liberty. 
"  After  this,  I  am  no  more  astonished  that  the 
^^  justice  of  God  required  a  satisfaction  propor- 
"  tional  to  his  greatness  ;  that  his  own  love  hath 
"  provided  that  satisfaction ;  and  that  God,  from 
'^  the  abundance  of  his  compassion,  designed  the 
''  mystery  of  an  incarnate  God :  a  mystery  which 

N 


98  LETTER  III. 

^^  angels  admire^  while  sceptics  oppose  :  a  mys- 
''  tery  which  absorbs  human  reason,  but  which 
^^  fills  all  heaven  with  songs  of  praise :  a  mys- 
('  tery  which  is  the  great  mystery,  by  excellence, 
^^but  the  greatness  of  which  nothing  should 
^*make  us  reject,  since  religion  propose th  it  as 
<^  the  grand  effort  of  the  wisdom  of  the  incompre- 
^Oiensible  God,  and  commandeth  us  to  receive 
"  it  on  the  testimony  of  the  incomprehensible 
^^God  himself.  Either  religion  must  tell  us 
«^  nothing  about  God,  or  vvhat  it  tells  us  must  be 
"  beyond  our  capacities ;  and  in  discovering 
^'  even  the  borders  of  this  immense  Ocean,  it 
^'  must  needs  exhibit  a  vast  extent,  in  which  our 
"  feeble  eyes  are  lost.  But  what  surprises  me, 
^^  what  stumbles  me,  what  frightens  me,  is  to  see 
^'  a  diminutive  creature,  a  contemptible  man,  a 
"  little  ray  of  light  glimmering  through  a  few 
''  feeble  organs,  controvert  a  point  with  the  Su:- 
*^preme  Being,  oppose  that  Intelligence  who 
''  sitteth  at  the  helm  of  the  world ;  question 
^'  what  he  affirms,  dispute  what  he  determines, 
^'  appeal  from  his  decisions,  and,  even  after 
"  God  hath  given  evidence,  reject  all  doctrines 
*^  that  are  beyond  his  capacity.  Enter  into  thy 
^*  nothingness,  mortal  creature !  What  madness 


LETTER  III.  99 

•*  animates  thee  ?  How  durst  thou  pretend ;  thou 
•^who  art  but  a  point;  thou  whose  essence  is 
*^  but  an  atom,  to  measure  thyself  with  the  Su- 
^'  preme  Being,  with  Him  who  fills  heaven  and 
^'  earth ;  with  Him  whom  heaven^  and  the  heaven 
"  of  heavens  cannot  contain  ?  Canst  thou  by 
"  searching  find  out  God?  Canst  thou  find  out 
"  the  Almighty  to  perfection  ?  High  as  heaven^ 
"  what  canst  thou  do  ?  deeper  than  hell,  what 
"  canst  thou  know  ?  He  stretcheth  out  the  north 
"  over  the  empty  place,  and  Jiangeth  the  earth 
"  upon  nothing.  He  bindeth  up  the  waters  in  his 
"  thick  clouds,  the  pillars  of  heaven  tremble,  and 
''are  astonished  at  his  reproof  Lo  these  are 
"parts  of  his  xvays,  but  how  little  a  portion  is 
"  heard  of  Him  ?  But  the  thunder  of  his  power, 
"  who  can  understand  ?  Gird  up  now  thy  loins 
"  like  a  man  ;  for  I  will  demand  of  thee,  and 
"  answer  thou  me.  Where  wast  thou  when  I 
"  laid  the  foundations  of  the  earth  ?  Declare  if 
"thou  hast  understanding.  Who  hath  laid  the 
"  measures  thereof?  Who  hath  stretched  out  the 
"  line  upon  it  ?  Whereupon  are  the  foundations 
"  thereof  fastened  ?  Who  laid  the  corner  stone 
"  thereof,  when  the  morning  stars  sang  together^ 
*'  and  all  the  sons  of  God  shouted  for  joy  ?  Who 


100  LETTER  111, 

'^  shut  up  the  sea  with  doors^  xvJien  I  made  the 
"  cloud  the  garment  thereof ^  and  thick  darkness  a 
<^  swaddling  hand  for  it  ?  When  I  break  up  for 
''  it  my  decreed  place ^  and  set  hars^  and  doors , 
^' and  said^  Hitherto  shalt  thou  co7ne,  and  no 
"farther  ;  and  here  shall  thy  proud  waves  be 
"stayed?  He  that  reproveth  God,  let  him  an- 
"  swer  this.  O  Lord,  such  knowledge  is  too 
"  wonderful  for  me  ;  it  is  high,  I  cannot  attain 
"  unto  it:^^ 

V.  The  FIFTH  and  last  Prejudice  on  tliis 
subject  to  which  I  wish  to  call  your  attention^  is 
that  which  arises  from  the  authority  of 
GREAT  Names.  Unitarians  are  more  apt^  if  I 
do  not  mistake^  than  any  other  sect  who  assume 
the  Christian  name^  to  boast  of  the  patronage  of 
distinguished  men.  This  is,  possibly  owing,  in 
part  at  least,  to  that  lurking  consciousness  that 
their  cause  stands  in  need  of  such  a  prop,  which 
more  frequently,  perhaps,  than  is  imagined, 
attends  the  advocates  of  error.  And  hence 
there  is  scarcely  any  method  of  -  defending  their 
an ti- christian  citadel  of  which  they  appear  more 
fond,  than  to  array  a  list  of  eminent  men,   to 

*  Sauhih's  SermonSj  by  Robinson^  Yol.  I.  p.  78, 


LETTER  III.  101 

whom  they  lay  claim,  as  the  open  or  the  secret 
friends  of  Unitarianism.  That  cause,  they  tell 
us,  cannot  be  bad,  which  some  of  the  greatest 
and  best  men  that  ever  lived,  have  espoused. 

The  weakness  of  this  plea  is  so  obvious,  that 
a  formal  refutation  of  it  will  not  be  thought  ne- 
cessary by  any  impartial  reader.  The  same  plea 
might  be  urged  with  quite  as  much  force  in  sup- 
j^t  of  Trans ubs tan tiation,  the  worship  of  Ima- 
ges and  Relicks,  and  many  other  of  the  most 
palpable  and  irrational  errors,  that  ever  disgra- 
ced the  Christian  Church.  They  have  all  had 
able  and  eminent  advocates,  whose  opinions 
have  been  confidently  quoted  in  their  favour, 
and  whose  authority  would  be  decisive,  if  tal- 
ents, learning  and  virtue,  could  be  admitted  as 
substitutes  for  scriptural  warrant.  Yet  if  any 
one  were  to  argue  that,  because  John  Duns 
Scotusj  and  Aqiiwas,  and  Bellarmm^  and  Fenelon 
and  Pascal,  and  a  host  of  other  eminent  men, 
were  all  Catholicks,  and  devoted  their  great 
powers  and  erudition  to  the  support  of  many  of 
the  superstitions  of  the  Papacy,  that  therefore 
these  superstitions  must  be  founded  in  Scrip- 
ture;  every  impartial  man  would  perceive  such 


102  LETTER  III. 

a  conclusion  to  be  at  once  illegitimate  in  reason- 
ing, and  false  in  fact.  Not  a  whit  better  is  the 
argument  drawn  by  Unitarians,  in  favour  of  their 
cause,  from  the  authority  of  great  names.     As  | 

long  as  they  themselves  are  compelled  to  ack- 
nowledge that  the  grossest  absurdities,  and  the 
most  wretched  superstitions,  have  been  counte- 
nanced by  many  men  equally  distinguished,  they 
will  hardly  venture  to  lay  much  stress  on  an  ar- 
gument so  capable  of  being  turned  against  thenu 

The  truth  is,  if  all  the  World  were  against 
the  Bible,  it  would  be  of  no  weight  in  the  Chris- 
tian's estimate.  If  all  the  talents  and  learning 
that  ever  apostate  man  could  vaunt,  were  lea- 
gfued  for  the  support  of  Unitarianism,  it  would 
only  be  another  proof  that  the  wisdom  of  this 
world  is  foolishness  zvith  God,  Thus  we  argue 
in  the  case  of  those  who  reject  Revelation  alto- 
gether ;  and  the  argument  is  just  as  good  with 
respect  to  their  near  relatives,  the  Unitari- 
ans. The  question  which  we  are  called  upon  to 
solve,  is,  not,  whether  this  great  man  believed 
in  accordance  with  us  ;  or  whether  that  great 
man  believe4  differently;  but  the  question  is, 
what  saifh.  the  Scriptures  ?  If  they  be  in  our 


LETTER  III.  103 

favour,  we  can  well  afford  to  have  thousands  of 
great  names  in  the  ranks  of  our  opponents. 

But  it  ought  to  be  known^  that^  whatever  may- 
be the  vahie  of  this  argument^  it  operates  with 
incomparably  more  force  in  favour  of  Orthodoxy, 
than  in  favour  of  Unitarianism.    In  taking  a  sur- 
vey of  the  Christian  world,  from  the  time  of  the 
Apostles  to  this  hour,   for  one  truly  great  man 
who  has  avowed  himself  a  Unitarian,  I  will  ven- 
ture to  produce  five  hundred,  who   have  taken 
the  opposite   side.     All  the   great   Reformers, 
throughout  Europe,  as  we  shall  see  hereafter, 
espoused  the  cause  of  Orthodoxy  with  perfect 
decision.     Nay,  the  great  body  of  the  most  pro- 
foundly learned  and  pious  men  that  ever  adorn- 
ed both  Catholick  and  Protestant  Christendom, 
have  espoused  the  same  cause,  so  far  as  respects 
the  main  points  in  dispute  between  the  Orthodox 
and  Unitarians.     If  the  question,  then,  is  to  be 
carried  by  a  majority  of  votes — -by  a  majority  of 
the  great  and  the  erudite,  the  majority  is  im- 
mense in  favour  of  Orthodoxy.   But  if  the  weight 
of  piety f  as  well  as  of  talent ; — of  deep  Biblical 
and  theological  knowledge,  as  well  as  of  elegant 
lUerature    and  human  science,   is  to    be  taken 


104  LETTER  III. 

into  the  accou^t^  the  preponderance  in  favour 
of  Orthodoxy,  is  beyond  all  comparison.  This 
Unitarians  well  know;  and,  therefore,  it  must 
be  confessed  they  had  no  small  temptation  to 
make,  as  they  have  done,  an  ostentatious  display 
of  the  comparatively  few  respectable  names  that 
could  be  mustered  on  their  side. 

This  being  so,  you  will  readily  perceive  what 
estimate  you  ought  to  form  of  those  sanguine, 
impetuous,  and  superficial  advocates  of  Unitari- 
anism,  who  represent  the  friends  of  their  system 
as  the  only  really  great  and  learned  men  ;  as  the 
only  men  of  large  views,  and  profound  know- 
ledge ;  while  the  friends  of  Orthodoxy  are  spoken 
of  by  them  as  persons  of  contracted  minds,  of 
scanty  acquirements,  of  low,  grovelling  prejudi- 
ces, and  as  the  weak  slaves  of  system  and 
authority.  Such  miserable  rodomontade  may 
pass  very  well  v/ith  those  who  know  nothing  of 
the  history  of  the  human  mind,  and  its  greatest 
ornaments.  But  by  all  others  it  will  be  regarded 
as  the  vainest  boasting  that  can  well  be  imagin- 
ed, and  of  which  a  truly  learned  Unitarian 
would  be  utterly  ashamed. 


LETTER  III.  105 

But  it  will,  peHiaps,  be  asked.  Have  not 
some  men  of  distinguished  talents  and  learning, 
who  avowed  themselves  Unitarians,  written  with 
great  ability  on  the  evidences  of  Christianity, 
and  in  the  defence  of  some  of  its  doctrines  ? 
They  have.  But  if  Unitarians  are  not  to  be 
acknowledged  as  Christians,  what  estimate  ought 
we  to  form  of  these  men  and  their  labours  ? 
Were  they  powerful  writers  on  behalf  of  Chris- 
tianity,  and  yet  no  Christians  ?  By  what  name, 
then,  ought  they  to  be  known  ?  There  is  really 
no  difficulty  in  this  case.  A  man  may  write 
with  great  zeal  and  force  in  support  of  a  par- 
ticular PART  of  a  religious  system,  who  can 
by  no  means  be  considered  as  a  cordial  friend 
of  the  GENERAL  SYSTEM.  A  Deist  may  write 
yvith  great  ability  in  defence  of  the  doctrine  of 
a  particular  Providence,  which  is  evidently  a 
doctrine  of  the  Bible  ;  and  a  Jeiv  may  write 
with  no  less  ability  in  support  of  the  miracles 
and  inspiration  of  the  Old  Testament  Scrip- 
tures, in  which  the  Christian  will  always  own 
him  as  an  auxiliary.  But  you  would  not  think 
of  calling  either,  on  this  account,  a  Christian. 
In  like  manner,  if  Dr.  Priestley ,  or  Dr.  Lard- 
ner^  or  any  other  distinguished  Unitarian,  wrote 

0 


106  LETTER  III. 

well  on  any  subject  connected  with  Christianity^ 
while  we  venerate  them  for  their  learning  and 
virtues,  and  thankfully  avail  ourselves  of  their 
aid,  on  any  subject  on  which  they  have  written 
ably  and  instructively ;  we  are  no  more  bound 
to  call  them  Christians,  or  to  consider  the  gene- 
ral spirit  of  their  writings  as  coinciding  with 
the  Gospel,  than  we  are  to  consider  Josephusy 
MaimonideSf  or  Ben  Jarchi^  as  entitled  to  the 
name  of  Christian,  while  we  esteem,  and  employ 
their  works,  in  aid  of  the  Christian  cause. 

But,  after  all.  Unitarians  are  in  the  constant 
habit  of  pressing  into  the  list  of  their  friends 
and  advocates,  many  whose  names  ought  never 
to  be  placed  in  such  company.  If  any  distin- 
guished man  be  found  to  have  speculated  on  the 
doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  or  that  of  the  Deity  of 
the  Redeemer,  in  an  unusual  manner;  if  he  be 
found  to  doubt  whether  the  common  mode  of 
speaking  on  these  doctrines  is  the  best,  or 
whether  the  Athanasian  creed  is  expressed  with 
sufficient  caution ;  he  is  immediately  set  down 
as  a  Unitarian.  If  one  of  this  character  hap- 
pen to  say  a  word  against  Creeds  and  Confes- 
sions ;  or  to  employ  mild,   indulgent  language 


LETTER  III.  107 

toward  those  who  deny  the  Saviour's  Divinity ; 
he  is  unceremoniously  affirmed  to  be  a  Unitari- 
an. Nay  if,  in  the  honesty  of  his  heart,  the 
most  thorough  Trinitarian  should  drop  an  ex- 
pression, which  can  be  so  construed,  by  a  tortur- 
ing logick,  as  to  admit  of  a  consequence  never 
thought  of  by  him  who  uttered  it ;  he  is  forth- 
with pronounced  a  Unitarian.  On  grounds  of 
this  sort,  you  may  rely  upon  it,  my  brethren, 
many  a  pious  friend  of  Orthodoxy  has  been  rep- 
resented as  standing  in  the  Unitarian  ranks. 
You  are  by  no  means,  therefore,  to  conclude^ 
that  every  one  to  whom  they  give  this  name, 
really  deservea  it.  The  gross  calumny  with 
which  they  have  perseveringly  followed  the  ex- 
cellent Doctor  TFatts,  is  a  specimen  of  this 
injustice  as  striking  as  it  is  shameful. 

With  respect  to  many  others  whom  Unitarians 
claim,  my  only  wonder  is,  that  conscientious  men 
can  possibly  boast  of  such  persons  as  an  honour 
to  any  cause.  When  they  bring  forward,  for 
example,  a  long  list  of  clergymen  and  others, 
of  the  church  of  England^  who  solemnly  pro- 
fessed their  belief  in  the  39  Articles,  and  who 
constantly  made  use  of  a  liturgy,  the  whole  char- 


lOB  LE'rrER  iij. 

acter  of  which  is  strikingly  Trinitarian;  but 
who  are  still  alledged  to  have  been  Unitarians 
in  principle ;  I  am  amazed  at  their  inconsider- 
ate zeal.  Either  these  persons  were  really 
Unitarians,  or  they  were  not.  If  they  were 
not,  then  they  have  been  basely  calumniated. 
If  they  xvere,  then  they  have  lived  in  habits  of 
the  most  shameful  dishonesty,  and  perjury ;  a 
dishonesty  and  perjury  which,  if  known,  could 
not  fail  of  rendering  them,  in  the  eyes  of  all  up- 
right men,  a  disgrace  to  any  society  calling 
itself  a  church  of  Christ. 

I  shall  not  now  agitate  the  question  whether 
Newton  and  Locke  were  Unitarians,  as  has  been 
confidently  alledged.  But  if  they  were,  their 
morality  was  worthy  of  their  creed.  Both  of 
them  repeatedly  subscribed  the  Articles  of  the 
Church  of  England;  and  both  of  them  habitu- 
ally joined  in  the  communion,  as  well  as  in  the 
prayers  of  that  church.  Did  they  do  this,  then, 
believing  those  Articles  to  be  essentially  er- 
roneous, even  with  regard  to  fundamental  doc- 
trines ;  and  that  worship  to  be  gross  idolatry  ? 
If  so,  claim  them  who  will !  They  would  have 
been  a  disgrace  to  an  Orthodox  Church,   and 


r 


LETTER  III.  109 

would  certainly  have  been  cast  out  of  it^  unless 
it  had  been  unfaithful,  or  they  had  concealed 
their  principles.  Winston^  it  seems,  does  alledge 
that  Newton  was  almost  incurably  displeased 
with  him  for  having  said  that  he  (Newton)  was 
&x\.Arian,  This  looks  as  if,  either,  the  charge 
was  false,  or  he  was  ashamed  of  his  creed, 
and  wished  to  maintain  the  character  of  an  Or- 
thodox man.  Either  supposition,  I  should  think, 
would  be  far  from  doing  credit  to  the  Unitarian 
cause.  As  to  Mr.  Locke,  if  there  were  truth 
and  candour  in  the  man,  he  was  no  Socinian  ; 
for  he  solemnly  denied  it  while  he  lived;  he 
acknowledged  the  doctrine  of  Christ's  satis- 
faction FOR  SIN  ;  and  after  his  death,  a  dis- 
tinguished literary  friend,  who  lived  with  him 
during  several  of  the  last  years  of  his  life,  and 
who  translated  the  most  valuable  of  his  works 
into  the  French  language,  declares,  that,  in  his 
last  moments,  he  thanked  God  ^^for  the  love 
"  shewn  to  man  in  justifying  him  by  faith  in 
^^  Jesus  Christ,  and  in  particular  for  having 
"  called  him  to  the  knowledge  of  that  Divine 
"  Saviour.^'^^ 

*  Locke's  rrorA's~9tb  Vol.  p.  173.  8vo.  Edit. 


110  LETTER  III. 

You  see,  then,  my  Christian  Friends,  the 
amount  of  this  prejudice  founded  on  the  au- 
thority of  GREAT  NAMES.  It  tums  out  to  be  a 
plea  of  no  force  whatever :  or  rather,  so  far  as  it 
has  any  force,  it  is  in  the  proportion   of  five 

HUNDRED  TO  ONE  IN  FAVOUR  OF  ORTHODOXY, 

AND  AGAINST  Unitarianism.  Will  you  cast  in 
your  lot,  then,  with  that  comparatively  small 
body,  who  have  abandoned  the  religion  of  the 
Apostles,  and  of  the  primitive  Church ;  some 
of  whom  have  been  distinguished  for  their 
talents  and  learning,  and  a  few  of  them  eminent 
for  their  moral  virtues;  but  the  generality  of 
whom,  even  Dr.  Priestley  being  judge,  have 
never  been  remarkable  for  their  piety ;  or  will 
you  unite  your  destiny  with  that  great  body  of 
holy  men  of  God,  of  whom  the  world  was  not 
worthy  ;  men  as  distinguished  for  the  ardour  of 
their  piety,  and  the  activity  of  their  benevolent 
zeal,  as  for  the  vigour  of  their  minds,  and  the 
extent  of  their  erudition  ?  If  I  must  follow  hu- 
man authority,  let  the  latter  be  my  guides ! 


LETTER  IV. 


Testimony  of  the  early  Fathers  on  this  Subject, 

Christian  Brethren^    . 

The  wbrd  of  God,  as  the  Orthodox  believe,  is 
the  only  certain  test  of  divine  truth ;  the  only 
infallible  rule  of  faith  and  practice.  Of  course, 
that  which  is  not  found  in  Scripture,  however 
extensively  and  unanimously  it  may  have  been 
received  by  those  who  bore  the  Christian  name, 
must  be  rejected,  as  forming  no  part  of  that  pre- 
cious  system  which  God  has  revealed  to  man  for 
his  salvation.  But  when  we  think  we  find  a  doc- 
trine plainly,  frequently,  and  solemnly  taught 
in  the  Bible,  it  certainly  does,  and  in  the  esti- 
mation of  all  reasonable  men,  it  ought  to  corrob- 
orate the  fact,  that  the  doctrine  is  really  found 
there,  and  is,  consequently,  of  God,  when  we 
find  the  true  Church,  in  all  ages,   maintaining 


112  LETTER  IV. 

and  cleaving  to  it^  nay  contending  for  it,  with 
zeal,  as  a  fundamental  part  of  divine  truth. 
I  need  not  tell  the  pious  that  there  is  a  conso- 
lation  as  well  as  a  duty,  in  walking  in  the  foot- 
steps of  the  flock. 

Now,  if  I  am  not  greatly  deceived,  nothing  is 
more  easy  than  to  show,  that  the  doctrines  of  a 
Trinity  of  Persons  in  the  adorable  Godhead, 
and  the  Divinity  of  Jesus  Christ,  have  always 
been  held  as  doctrines  of  the  Gospel  by  the  true 
church  of  Christ,  and  been  regarded  and  conten- 
ded for  as  fundamental ;  that  in  the  purest  ages 
and  portions  of  the  church,  they  have  been 
maintained  with  most  care,  and  preached  w  ith 
most  zeal;  and  that  those  who  rejected  them 
have  been  always  branded  as  heretics^  and,  as 
such,  cast  out  of  the  church,  and  even  denied 
the  name  of  Christian.  If  all  this  can  be  made 
out,  as  I  have  no  doubt  it  can,  to  the  satisfaction 
of  every  impartial  mind,  will  it  not  go  far  to- 
wards demonstrating,  that  the  views  of  the  Or- 
thodox on  this  subject  are  correct,  and  that  the 
doctrines  which  they  cherish,  are  indeed'  the 
truth  of  God  ? 


LETTER  IV.  113. 

In  attempting  to  give  a  sketch  of  that  portion 
of  the  testimony  in  favour  of  our  doctrines 
which  may  be  called  historical,  I  might  begin 
with  the  Primitive  Churchy  and  examine  the 
evidence  found  on  this  subject  in  the  Sacred 
records.  But  this  would  be  to  enter  into  so 
large  a  field^  that  I  must  at  present  decline  it, 
as  leading  me  beyond  the  limits  which  I  have 
prescribed  for  these  Letters.  This  is  a  branch 
of  the  testimony  which,  if  entered  upon  at  all, 
must  be  pursued  into  considerable  detail.  But 
this  has  been  done  by  so  many  hands,  and  with 
so  much  ability,  that  I  refer  you  to  their  labours ; 
and  shall  feel  myself  warranted  in  taking  for 
granted  that  the  doctrines  for  which  I  contend 
are  plainly  and  undoubtedly  taught  in  Scripture. 
When  I  find  the  Scriptures  declaring,  in  the 
most  express  and  unequivocal  manner,  that  God 
was  manifest  in  the  flesh ;  that  Jesus  Christ  is 
the  Lord  from  heaven  ;  that  He  is  Alpha  and 
Omega,  the  first  and  the  last,  which  was,  and 
which  is,  and  which  is  to  come,  the  Almighty  ; 
that  the  Jews  crucified  the  Lord  of  glory  ;  that 
in  the  beginning  was  the  Word,  and  the  JFord 
was  with  God,  and  the  JFord  was  God;  that  all 
things  xvcre  made  by  him,  and  for  him,  and  that 

P 


114  LETTER  IV. 

without  him  was  not   any  thing  made  that  was 
made';  that  as  He  made  all  things,  so  He  upholds 
all  things  by  the  word  of  his  power,  and  is  over 
all   God    blessed  Jbrever  :^— When  I  find   Him 
called  the  brightness  of  the  Father^ s  glory,  and 
the   express  Image  of  his  Person — Jehovah   our 
righteousness — Immaniiel,  which  is,  being  inter- 
preted, God  with  us — the  mighty  God,  the  ever- 
lasting Father,  the  Prince  of  Peace : — When  I 
find   Him    asserting    concerning    himself,  that 
which   plainly  implies   Divinity — such  as   that 
wherever  his  people  are  assembled,  in  all  parts 
of  the  world,  there  He  is  in  the  midst  of  them-^ 
that  He  has  power  to  forgive  sins — and  that  He 
searcheth  the  hearts,  and  trieth  the  reins  of  the 
children  of  men :  When  I  hear  him  say — /  and 
my  Father   are   one — Before   Abraham  was,  I 
am : — When  I  find  it  solemnly  enjoined  that  we 
honour  the  Son  even  as  we  honour  the  Father-; 
accompanied  with  the   declaration,  that  he  that 
honoureth  not  the  Son,  honoureth  not  the  Father : 
— When  I  find  it  said,  with  peculiar  emphasis, 
that  He  has  all  power  in  heaven  and  on  earth — 
that  his  throne  is  forever  and  ever — that  He  had 
gloi'y  with  thq  Father  before  the  world  rvas — that 
7ve  must  all  stand  before  the  judgment  seat  of 


LETTER  IV.  115 

Christ — that  He  bore  our  sins  in  his  own  body  on 
the  tree — that  his  blood  cleanseth  from  all  sin — 
that  He  is  the  propitiation  for  oiir^  sins,  and  not 
for  ours  only,  but  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world 
— that  He  has  made  peace  by  the  blood  of  his 
cross, — and  that  He  saves  his  people  from  their 
sins : — When  I  read  the  form  of  Baptism,  which 
the  Saviour  himself  prescribed,  and  find  the 
Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost  put  on  a  par  with  the 
Father,  both  as  to  personality,  and  Divine  char- 
acter : — When  I  read  the  apostolical  Benedic- 
tion, and  find  the  grace  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
placed  before  the  love  of  God  the  Father,  as  if 
on  purpose  to  show  that  the  former  was  not  in- 
feriour,  either  in  nature  or  dignity  to  the  latter : 
■ — When  I  find  good  men  represented  in  the  sa- 
cred history  as  praying  to  Christ,  and  commen- 
ding their  departing  spirits  to  him : — When  I 
find  divine  perfections,  divine  works,  and  divine 
worship  every  where  ascribed  to  Him  : — When  I 
read  these  passages,  and  many  others  of  a  similar 
character^  I  am  compelled  to  believe  that  the 
true  and  proper  Divinity  of  the  Son,  as  equal 
with  the  Father,  is  taught  in  Scripture.  To 
suppose  language  and  representations  of  this 
kind  to  be  applied  to  a  mere  man,  or  to  any 


116  LETTER  IV. 

creature^  however  exalted^  is,  in  my  view,  of  all 
incredible  things,  one  of  the  most  incredible.  In 
short,  to  suppose  that  men  who  spake  as  they 
were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost — men  who  con- 
stantly had  it  as  one  of  their  grand  objects,  to 
guard  their  fellow  men  against  idolatry,  should 
speak  thus  concerning  any  mere  created  being, 
would  be  to  suppose  them  speaking  with  an  utter 
disregard  of  all  that  is  correct  in  language,  of 
all  that  is  sober  in  thought,  and  of  all  that  is 
reverential  to  the  majesty  of  heaven.  The 
Bible,  if  this  be  supposed,  instead  of  speaking 
the  xvords  of  truth  and  soberness,  must  exhibit 
(with  the  deepest  reverence  I  would  write  it) 
the  most  wonderful  compound  of  empty  bombast, 
and  of  cabbalistical  jargon,  that  ever  was  utter- 
ed. It  cannot  be.  The  eternal  Son,  therefore, 
is  Jehovah,  of  the  same  substance  or  essence, 
with  the  Father,  equal  in  power  and  glory. 

It  is  no  valid  objection  to  this  conclusion,  that 
Christ  is  spoken  of,  in  other  parts  of  Scripture, 
as  a  man,  and  that  He  is  represented  as  speak- 
ing the  language,  and  acting  the  part  of  a  man. 
This  is  precisely  what  we  say,  that 'He  is  God 
and  man,  Jiaving  two   natures   united  in  one 


LETTER  IV.  117 

Person  forever.  This  we  hold  ,  to  have  been 
absolutely  necessary  in  order  to  his  being  quali- 
fied to  be  a  Mediator  between  God  and  man^ 
and,  as  such,  to  lay  his  hands  upon  both.  Had 
He  not  been  man,  He  could  not  have  been  made 
subject,  as  our  Surety,  to  the  law  which  we  had 
broken  ;  nor  have  obeyed  and  suffered  as  our 
representative ;  and  had  He  not  been  God,  his 
obedience  and  sufferings  could  not  have  had 
that  infinite  value  which  was  indispensable  to 
their  efficacy  for  justifying  and  saving  the  un- 
numbered millions  of  his  people.  And  I  will 
add,  had  not  his  Person  been  constituted  in  this 
wonderful  manner,  why  should  the  inspired  wri- 
ters appear  to  labour  as  they  do,  for  adequate 
expressions  to  set  forth  the  transcendent  mys- 
tery and  glory  of  his  appearance  in  the  flesh  ? 

This,  I  said,  is  not  only  the  doctrine  of  the 
Bible,  but  it  has  also  been  the  doctrine  of  the 
true  Church  of  Christ,  from  the  Apostles  to  the 
present  day.  To  an  attempt  to  establish  this 
position,  I  would  now,  my  Christian  Brethren, 
request  your  candid  attention. 


118  LETTER  IV. 

The  early  Christian  writers  are  usually  called, 
by  way  of  distinction,  the  Fathers,  They  were 
men,  of  course,  of  different  degrees  of  talent  and 
attainment ;  placed  in  different  situations ;  of 
different  ways  of  thinking  and  feeling,  on  a 
great  variety  of  subjects ;  and,  consequently^  in 
very  different  degrees  entitled  to  the  confidence 
of  those  who  come  after  them.  But  I  think  it 
may  be  said,  without  fear  of  contradiction,  that 
they  ALL  concur  in  bearing  testimony  to  the 
truth  of  the  position  which  I  am  now  engaged  in 
supporting.  The  following  extracts  from  a  few 
of  them  (for  to  give  the  whole,  would  be  to  write 
several  volumes,  instead  of  a  small  manual,) 
will  be  sufficient  for  my  purpose.* 

Barnahasj  sometimes  called  the  Apostle,  who 
was  probably  born  before  the  cri^cifixion  of  the 
Saviour,  and  who  wrote  soon  after  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem^  by  Titus^  is  a  very  decisive 

*  With  respect  to  a  large  part  of  the  following  extracts  from 
the  early  Fathers,  the  Author  has  drawn  them  himself  from 
the  original  writers,  and  will  be  responsible  for  the  accuracy 
of  the  citations.  ,  With  regard  to  the  rest,  not  having  the  ori- 
ginals within  convenient  reach,  he  has  taken  them  from  Bishop 
^ullt  Mr.  Burghf  Dr.  Jamieson^  Mr.  Simpson,  and  others,  of  es- 
tablished reputation.  It  has  been  his  study,  in  ervery  instance, 
in  making,  or  adopting  a  translation,  to  give  the  strict,  unvar- 
nished sense  <^  the  writer. 


LETTER  IV.  119 

witness  in  favour  of  the  Divinity  pf  Christ.  In 
the  3th  section  of  his  Catholick  Epistle^  he  says, 
''  The  Lord  was  content  to  suffer  for  our  souls, 
''  although  He  be  the  lord  of  the  whole 
''  earth  ;  to  whom  God  said,  before  the  begin- 
"  ning  of  the  world,  Let  us  make  man  after  our 
"  own  image  and  likeness."  Again,  in  the  7th 
section,  he  says,  ''  If  therefore  the  Son  of  God, 
"  who  is  Lord  of  all,  and  shall  come  to  judge 

^'  BOTH  the  quick  AND  THE   DEAD,  hath    Suffcr- 

''  ed,  that  by  his  stripes  we  might  live,  let  us 
''  believe  that  the  Son  of  God  could  not  have 
''  suffered  but  for  us.''    Surely  He  who  is  Lord 

OF     THE     WHOLE     EARTH LORD     OF    ALL and 

who  will    JUDGE  THE    QUICK    AND    DEAD,  CaU  be 

no  other  than  a  Divine  Person. 

Cleinejis  Romanus  was  probably  born  before 
the  middle,  and  wrote  towards  the  close,  of  the 
first  century.  As  is  generally  supposed,  he 
was  personally  acquainted  with  most  of  the 
Apostles,  and  seems  to  have  been  the  same 
person  whom  saint  Paul  speaks  of  as  his  follow 
labourer.  All  the  writings  of  this  Father  which 
have  reached  us,  are  comprised  in  a  few  pages. 
In  these,  though  he  no  where  treats  formally  or 


120  LETTER  IV. 

professedly  on  the  subject  in  hand,  he  inciden- 
tally expresses  himself  in  the  following  manner 
— "  For  Christ  is  theirs  who  are  humble,  and 
''  who  do  not  exalt  themselves  over  his  flock. 
''  The  sceptre  of  the  majesty  of  God,  ouij 
"  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  came  not  in  the  shew  of 
"  pride  and  arrogance ;  though  He  could  have 
"  done  so  ;  but  with  humility,  as  the  Holy 
^^  Ghost  had  before  spoken  concerning  him. 
''  And  again — "  God  is  good  to  all,  especially 
"to  those  who  flee  to  his  mercy  through  our 
"Lord  Jesus  Christ,  to  Whom  be  glory  and 
"  majesty  forever  and  ever.     Amen !" 

Polycarp,  who  flourished  in  the  beginning  of 
the  second  century,  and  who  suffered  martyr- 
dom under  the  emperor  Marcus  Antoninus^  about 
A.  D.  167,  in  a  short  Epistle  to  the  Phillip- 
piansj  the  only  writing  of  his  which  is  now  ex- 
tant, writes  thus.  "  Mercy  and  peace  unto  you, 
^^from  God  Almighty,  and  the  Lord  Jesus 
^^  Christ,  our  Saviour,  be  multiplied. — Every 
"living  creature  shall  worship  Christ— Now 
"  the  God  and  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
"  and  he  himself,  who  is  our  everlasting  High 
'^  Priest,  th^  Son  of  God,   Jesus  Christ,  build 


LETTER  IV.  121 

•^  you  up  in  faith  and  truth,  and  in  all  meekness 
"  and  gentleness,  and  grant  unto  you  a  lot  and 
'^  portion  among  his  saints  ! — God  is  good  to 
^^  all,  especially  to  those  who  flee  to  his  mercy, 
'^  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  to  whom  be 
^^  glory  and  majesty  forever  and  ever.    Amen  !'^ 

After  the  death  of  Polycarpj  the  church  of 
Smyrna^  of  which  he  had  been  pastor,  wrote  a 
circular  letter  to  other  churches,  in  which  they 
gave  an  account  of  his  sufferings.  From  this  let- 
ter we  learn,  that,  when  he  was  at  the  stake,  he 
addressed  a  prayer  to  God,  which  he  concluded 
with  this  doxology — ^^For  all  things  I  praise 
"  thee,  I  bless  thee,  I  glorify  thee,  together  with 
"  the  eternal  and  heavenly  Jesus  Christ,  with 
^^  whom  unto  thee,  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  be  glory 
^^both  now  and  forever,  world  without  end. 
"Amen!'' — The  same  epistle  informs  us  that, 
after  his  death,  the  Jews  suggested  to  the  hea- 
then judge,  that  he  should  not  suffer  the  Chris- 
tians to  take  his  body  and  bury  it,  lest  they 
should  leave  the  worship  of  their  crucified  Mas- 
ter, and  begin  to  worship  Polycarp,  "  Not  con- 
"sidering,''  says  the  epistle — "that  we  can 
"never   either  forsake  the  \^rship  of  Christ, 


122  LETTER  IT. 

^^who  suffered  for  the  salvation  of  those  who 
"are  saved  in  the  whole  world^  the  just  for  the 
"unjust^  or  worship  any  other.  For  we  wor- 
"  SHIP  Him  as  being  the  Son  of  God  ;  but  the 
"  martyrs  we  only  love^  as  they  deserve,  for  their 
"  great  affection  for  their  King  and  Master^  and 
^'  as  being  disciples  and  followers  of  their  Lord, 
"  whose  partners  and  fellow  disciples  we  desire 
"  to  be.'^ 

The  next  witness  whom  I  shall  adduce  is  j^- 
?2atiusy  who  suffered  martyrdom  under  the  Em- 
peror Trajan^  A.  D.  107.  In  his  Epistles  the 
following  passages  occur.* 

The  salutation  of  his  Epistle  to  the  Ephesians^ 
is  in  these  words — "  Ignatius^  who  is  also  called 
"  Theophoritsj  to  the  church  which  is  at  Ephe- 
"  sus^  in  Asia^  most  deservedly  happy  ;  being 
"  blessed,  through  the  greatness  and  fullness  of 

*  The  author  is  aware,  that  the  authenticity  of  the  Epistles 
of  Jg-natins,  has  been  called  in  question,  as.  well  as  that  of  IJar- 
nabas,  before  quoted.  It  is  impossible  in  a  work  written  on 
the  plan,  and  with  the  design,  of  these  Letters,  to  enter  into 
the  merits  of  coutroversies  of  this  sort.  It  is  sufficietit  for  his 
purpose  to  say,  that  the  great  body  of  learned  men  consider 
the  Epistle  of  Barnabas,  and  the  smaller  Epistles  of  JgnatiuSf 
(and  from  these  alone  he  offers  quotations)  as'  in  the  n^ain, 
the  real  works  of  the  writers  whose  names  they  bear.  Of  this 
■  opinion  was  the  eminently  learned  Unitarian,  Dr.  Lardner. 


LETTER  IV.  _      123 

^^  God  the  Father,  and  predestinated  before  the 
"world  began  J  that  it  should  be  always  unto  an 
"enduring  and  unchangeable  glory;  being  uni- 
"  ted  and  chosen  through  his  true  passion^  ac- 
^^  cording  to  the  will  of  the  Father,  and  Jesus 
"  Christ  OUR  God  ;  all  happiness,  by  Jesus 
''  Christ,  and  his  undefiled  grace.'^  In  the  7th 
section  of  the  same  Epistle,  he  says,  "  There  is 
"  one  Physician,  both  fleshly  and  spiritual ; 
^'  made  and  not  made  ;  God  incarnate/'  And 
again,  in  the  19th  section — "  Ignorance  was 
"  taken  away,  and  the  old  kingdom  abolished, 
"God  himself  appearing  in  the  form  of 
"a  man.'' 

Toward  the  close  of  his  Epistle  to  the  Mag- 
7iesianSj  he  expresses  himself  thus — "  Study, 
^*  therefore,  to  be  confirmed  in  the  doctrine  of 
'^  our  Lord,  and  of  his  Apostles ;  that  whatso- 
"  ever  ye  do,  ye  may  prosper,  both  in  body  and 
"spirit;  in  faith  and' charity;  in  the  Son,  and 
"  in  the  Father,  and  in  the  Holy  Spirit." 

He  begins  his  Epistle  to  the  Smyrneans  thus 
— "  I  glorify  God,  even  Jesus  Christ,  who  has 
"  given  you  such  wisdom."     And  in  the  close  of 


124  LETTER  IV. 

his  Epistle  to  Polycarp,  he  says,  "  I  wish  you 
^'  all  happiness  in  Jesus  Christ,  our  God.'^ 

All  the  witnesses  whom  I  have  yet  cited  lived 
in  the  first  century,  and  were  personally  ac- 
quainted with  some  of  the  Apostles.  Their 
testimony,  therefore,  is  weighty,  and.  worthy  of 
peculiar  attention. 

Irenceusy  who  was  a  disciple  of  Polycarp,  and 
who  is  said  to  have  suffered  martyrdom  about 
A.  D.  202,  is  an  important  and  decisive  witness 
on  the  subject  before  us.  In  the  fourth  book  of 
his  work  against  the  Heretics^  he  begins  by  as- 
serting That  "  God  was  made  man.'^ — In  the 
second  book  of  that  work,  and  toward  the  close 
of  the  thirteenth  chapter,  as  quoted  in  the  last 
Letter,  he  says  "  The  Son  from  eternity  co- 
^^  EXISTED  WITH  THE  Father,  and  from  the 
^^  beginning  he  always  revealed  the  Father  to 
"  angels,  and  archangels,  and  principalities  and 
"  powers,  and  to  all  to  whom  it  pleased  him  to 
"  reveal  Him.^/  In  the  fourth  book  and  tenth 
chapter  of  the  same  work,  he  asserts  that  Jesus 
Christ  was  the  God  who  interrogafed  Adam ; 
whp   conferred  with  Noah^  and  gave  him  the 


LETTER  IV.  125 

dimensions  of  the  ark ;  who  spoke  to  Abraham ; 
who  brought  destroying  judgments  on  the  in- 
habitants of  Sodom ;  who  directed  Jacob  in  his 
journey^  and  addressed  Moses  out  of  the  burning 
bush  at  Horeb.  And^  to  give^  but  one  example 
more ;  in  the  third  book,  and  sixteenth  chap- 
ter of  the  same  work,  he  says — ^'  He  (Christ) 
"  is  called  Immanuel,  lest  we  should  think  him 
"  ONLY  A  MAN."  And  to  illustrate  and  confirm 
this,  it  is  worthy  of  notice,  he  immediately 
subjoins,  with  some  other  pointed  passages  of 
scripture,  that  remarkable  text  in  Romans  IX. 
5.  "  Of  xvhom,  as  concerning  the  flesh,  Christ 
"  came  J  who  is  over  ail  God  blessed  forever  ;'^^ 
which  he  evidently  interprets  and  applies,  just 
as  it  is  interpreted  and  applied  by  modern  be- 
lievers in  the  Divinity  of  the  Saviour. 

About  the  same  time  with  Irenceus  lived  The- 
ophilus,  Bishop  of  the  church  of  Antioch.  He 
expressly  acknowledges  "  Christ  to  be  God, 
"  and  says  the  world  was  made  by  him  : 
"for  when  the  Father  said,  ^Let  us  make 
"  man  in  our  image,  after  our  likeness,^  He 
"  spake  to  no  other  but  to  his  own  Word,  and 
"  his  own  Wisdom,  that  is  to  the  Son,  and  the 


126  LETTER  IV. 

^^HoLY   Spirit.'' — These  he  expressly  styles 
a  "Trinity  IN  THE  Godhead.* 

Justin  Martyr^  who,  about  A.  D.  165,  sealed 
his  faith  with  his  blood,  as  the  latter  part  of  his 
name  signifies,  affords  important  and  decisive 
testimony  on  this  subject.  In  his  Dialogue 
with  Trypho  the  Jew,  the  latter  is  represented 
as  finding  fault  with  Christians  for  maintaining 
the  Deity  and  worship  of  Christ.  '^  To  me  it 
^^  appears,''  says  Trypho,  ?i  "paradox/incapable 
"of  any  sound  proof,  to  say  that  this  Christ 
"  WAS  God  before  all  time,  and  that  then  he 
*^  was  MADE  MAN  and  suffered  :  and  to  assert 
^'  that  he  was  any  thing  more  than  a  man,  of 
^^  men,  appears  not  only  paradoxical  but  fool- 
"  ish."  "'  I  know,"  replies  Justi?!,  "  that  it 
"appears  paradoxical,  and  particularly  to  those 
"  of  your  nation,  who  are  determined  neither 
''  to  know  nor  do  the  will  of  God,  but  to  follow 
"  the  inventions  of  your  teachers,  as  God  de- 
"  clares  of  you.  However,  if  I  could  not  de- 
"  monstrate  that  He  existed  before  all  time, 
Seeing  God,  the  Son  of  the  Maker  of  the 
"  Universe,  and  was  made  man  of  the  Virgin  : 

"     *  Theoph.  ad^Autolnc.  Lib.  11.  p.  106,  114,  130. 


LETTER  IV.  127 

^^yet  as  this  personage  was  shewn  hy  every 
"  sort  of  proof  to  be  the  Christ  of  God^  be  the 
"  question  as  it  may  respecting  his  Divinity  and 
"  humanity,  you  have  no  right  to  deny  that  He 
"  is  the  Christ  of  God,  even  if  he  were  only  a 
"  mere  man  ;  you  could  only  say  that  I  was 
"  mistaken  in  my  idea  of  his  character.  For 
"  there  are  some  who  call  themselves  Chris- 
"  tians,  who  confess  him  to  be  the  Christ,  but 
"  only  a  mere  man ;  with  whom  neither  I,  nor 

^^THE    MOST    WHO    BEAR    THAT    NAME,    AGREE; 

^^  because  we  are  commanded  by  Christ  himself, 
"  not  to  obey  the  precepts  of  men,  but.  his  own 
"  injunctions,  and  those  of  the  holy  prophets.''^ 
In  another  part  of  the  same  Dialogue,  he  speaks 
of  Christ  as  ^^he  God  of  Israel  who  was 
"  with  MosesP 

In    his   first   Apology,    he   expresses   himself 

thus "  We  WORSHIP  AND  ADORE  THE  FATHER, 

*  The  true  rendering"  of  this  passage  in  Justin  Martyr  has 
been  not  a  little  controverted  by  Unitarians.  I  have  given  that 
which  appears  to  me  to  be  the  true  sense  of  it.  But  to  stop  to 
adjust  disputes  of  this  kind,  in  detail,  would  lead  me  far  be- 
yond the  limits  of  th^se  Letters,  and  defeat  their  great  ob- 
ject My  readers  may  rest  assured,  that  I  will  not  knowingly 
mislead  them  with  respect  to  a  single  quotation  ;  and  that  I 
will,  in  no  case,  introduce,  either  witnesses  or  argurot-nts, 
which  appear  to  me  to  have  been  either  set  aside,  or  weaken- 
ed, by  Unitarian  criticism. 


128  LETTER  IV. 

^^  AND  THAT  SON,  who  came  from  him^  and  the 
"  Spirit  of  Prophecy^  honouring  them  in  word 
''  and  in  truth.  Those  who  say  that  the  Son  is 
''  the  Father,  are  convicted  of  being  ignorant  of 
^'  the  Father,  and  of  not  knowing  that  the  Fath- 
''  er  of  all  hath  a  Son,  who  being  the  first  begot- 
"  ten  Word  of  God,  is  also  God.'' 

In  his  second  Apology^  he  speaks  thus^ — '^  We 
"  worship  and  love  the  word  of  the  Unbe- 
^^  GOTTEN  and  INEFFABLE  GoD,  who  is  with 
"  God,  because  for  our  sakes  he  became  man, 
"  that  being  also  a  partaker  of  our  sufferings.  He 
"  might  accomplish  our  cure." — Now,  when  it 
is  recollected  that  these  Apologies  were  intended 
to  give  general  information  concerning  the  faith 
and  practice  of  the  Christians  in  his  day,  we 
cannot  suppose  that  he  would  be  so  insane  as  to 
lay  before  the  Pagan  rulers,  in  the  face  of  the 
world,  any  doctrines  but  those  which  were  known 
to  be  embraced  by  the  great  body  of  his  fellow 
believers.  .  ■      - 

Of  the  writings  of  Melito^  pastor  of  the  church 
of  Sardis,  who  flourished  about  A.  D.  170,  only 
a  few  fragments  remain,  as  preserved  by  Euse- 


LETTER  IV.  129 

bius^  Anastasiusj  and  others.  In  one  of  these 
fragments,  he  speaks  thus,  ''  We  are  not  wor- 
^'  shippers  of  stones ;  but  we  are  worshippers  of 
'^  the  one  God,  who  is  before  all,  and  in  all,  and 
'^  in  his  Christ,  who  is  truly  God,  the  eternal 
^^WoRD.''* — In  another  he  expresses  himself 
in  this  pointed  manner.  After  saying  that  it 
was  unnecessary  to  give  further  proofs  of  Christ's 
humanity,  he  adds,  ^^the  miracles  which  He 
''  wrought  after  his  baptism,  most  forcibly  de- 
''  monstrate  and  confirm  his  Divinity  conceal- 
''  ED  IN  FLESH.  Tlius  being  at  once  perfect 
'^  God  and  perfect  man,  he  discovered  his  two 
''  natures  to  us — his  Divinity,  by  the  miracles 
''  which  he  performed  in  the  three  years  after 
"  his  baptism — his  humanity,  by  the  thirty  ante- 
^'  cedent  years,  in  which  the  meanness  of  the 
"  flesh  hid  the  tokens  of  his  Divinity,  though  he 
''  was  true  and  everlasting  GoD.'^f 

The  following  testimony  of  Athenagoras,  who 
flourished  about  A.  D.  175,  is  very  express  and 
pointed.  "  The  Son  of  God  is  the  Word  of  the 
^^ Father,  in  power  and  energy;  by  him,  and 

*  Chron.  Alexander,  ap  Spanhem  :  Hist.  Christ :  p.  610. 
■j-  Anastasius,   of  Sinai^   as  quoted  by  Cavb,  in  his    Historia 
Jjiteraria,  p.  43. 

R 


130  LETTER  IV. 

<^  through  him  were  all  things  created.  The 
^'  Father  and  the  Son  are  one.  If  you  desire  a 
^^  further  explanation  of  the  meaning  of  Son  in 
''  this  point,  I  will  endeavour  to  give  you  a  brief 
^^one.     He  is  the  First-born  of  the  Fath- 

''  ER,   but  NOT  AS  EVER    BEGINNING  TO  EXIST 

^i  Who  is  not  filled  with  admiration/^  says  he, 
'^.  that  we  who  declare  God  the  Father,  and  God 
'f  THE  Son,  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  shewing  both 
^'  the  power  of  their  Unity,  and  the  distinction 
''  of  their  order,  should  be  called  perverse  Athe- 
<^^ists?" — ^^We  are  not  Atheists,  who  reckon  as 
^^God,  the  Maker  of  the  Universe,  and  his 
^»  Word  who  proceedeth  from  him.''* 

Tatian,  a  disciple  of  Justin  Martyr^  in  reply  to 
the  accusations  of  the  heathen,  says,  "  we  do  not 
^'  O  Grecians,  act  the  part  of  fools,  nor  do  we  tell 
''  you  idle  stories,  when  we  declare  that  God 

"  WAS  BORN  IN  THE  HUMAN  FORM-f 

Contemporary  with  Athenagoras^  was  Clemens 
AlexandrinuSf  whose  testimony  is  no  less  expli- 
cit on  the  subject  under  consideration.     In  his 

*  Athenaoor.  Legatio.  p   11,  34. 
{■  Tatiast,  centra  firce cos f  p.  159. 


LETTER  IV.  131 

Pedagogue,  book  first,  chapter  second,  he  says, 
'^O  children,  our  Master  is  like  to  God  his 
^'  Father,  whose  Son  He  is,  without  sin.  He  is 
''  God  in  the  form  of  man,  immaculate." 
Again,  in  the  third  book,  and  twelfth  chapter, 
of  the  same  work,  he  thus  exhorts — ^^Let  us 
^'  give  thanks  to  the  only  Father  and  Son ;  to  the 
"  Son  and  the  Father ;  to  the  Son  our  Teach- 
^'  er  and  Master,  with  the  Holy  Spirit ;  one  in 
"  all  respects ;  in  whom  are  all  things ;  by  whom 
^'  all  things  are  one ;  by  whom  is  eternal  exis- 
^'  tence ;  whose  members  we  are  ;  whose  is  the 
^'  glory,  and  the  ages  ;  who  is  the  perfect  good,^ 
^Uhe  perfect  beauty,  all-wise  and  all-just,  to 
"  whom  be  glory  both  now  and  ever.  Amen  V^ 
And  a  little  after,  in  the  same  work,  he  pours 
out  the  following  exhortation — "  Gather  togeth^ 
*^er  thy  simple  children,  to  praise  in  a  holy 
•^  manner,  to  celebrate  without  guile,  Christ  the 
"  Leader  of  children,  the  eternal  Logos,  the  in- 
"  finite  Age,  the  eternal  Light,  the  Fountain  of 
"  mercy,  &c. — Filled  with  the  dew  of  the  Spir- 
''  it,  let  us  sing  together  sincere  praises,  genuine 
^'  hymns,  to  Christ  our  king,  &c.  !"  The  same 
writer  in  his  Exhortation  to  the  Gentiles,  styles 
Christ,  THE  LIVING  God,  who  was  then  wor- 


132  LETTER  IV. 

'^  shipped  and  adored.  Believe,"  says  he,  "  O 
"  man  in  Him  who  is  both  man  and  God  :  be- 
'^  lieve,  O  man,  in  Him  who  suffered  death,  and 
''  yet  is  adored  as  the  living  Gqd,'^* 

About  the  same  time,  that  is,  toward  the  close 
of  the  second  century,  flourished  Andro7iicus,  the 
martyr,  in  the  account  of  whose  martyrdom,  it 
is  represented  as  having  been  objected  to  him 
by  the  heathen  judge,  that  Christ,  whom  he  pro- 
fessed to  invoke  and  to  worship,  was  a  man,  who 
had  suffered  under  the  government  of  Pontius 
Pilate,  and  that  the  records  of  his  sufferings 
were  then  extant.  It  seems  that  the  worship  of 
Christ  was  so  openly  avowed  by  the  christians, 
and  so  universally  known  to  the  heathen,  that  at 
every  turn  it  was  objected  to  them ;  and  their 
answer  was  always  the  same ;  "  That  they  wor- 
''  shipped  Him,  indeed ;  not  however,  as  a  mere 
^^  man,  but  as  a  God,  the  Son  of  God  by  na- 
<^ture,  and  of  the  same  substance  with  the 
"Father.''! 

The  testimony  of  the  eloquent  Tertullian^  who 
flourished  about  A.  D.  200,  on  this^subject,  is 

*  Clem.  Alex.  Protreptic^  p.  84 
•     \  Baronii,  Ahnaks.  Acta  Jlndronici-^ati  190. 


LETTER  IV.  133 

as  direct  and  indubitable  as  can  well  be  imagin- 
ed.    Those  who  read  his  treatise  against  Prax- 
easy  will  no  longer  have   any  remaining  doubt. 
Praxeas  was  a  heretick,  who  taught  that  the 
Father,  the  Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  were  one 
and  the  same  ;  in  other  words,  he  denied  all  dis- 
tinction of  Persons  in  the  Godhead,  maintaining 
the  same  error  which  was  afterwards  revived, 
and  has  been  since  generally  known,  under  the 
name  of  Sabellianism.       Tertullian  entered  the 
lists  against  him,  and  wrote  a  treatise,  in  which 
with  great  decision  and  force,  he  supported  what 
were  then,  and  have  ever  since  been  considered, 
as  the  Orthodox   opinions  on  this   subject.     In 
this  treatise  he  speaks  pointedly  and  clearly  of 
the  Trinity  in  Unity ;  of  the  Father,  Son  and 
Holy  Ghost,  yet  one  God ;  He   speaks  of  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  as  both  God  and  man,  as  son 
of  man  and  Son  of  God,  and  called  Jesus  Christ. 
He  speaks  also  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  Comfort- 
er, the  sanctifier  of  the  faith  of  those  who  believe 
in  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost.     And  he 
explicitly  declares,  not  only  that  he  and  those 
around  him  received  this  faith ;  but  that  it  had 
obtained  from  the  beginning,  antecedently  to  any 
former  heretics ;  and  much  more  antecedently  to 


134  LETTER  lY. 

Praxeas^  who  was  of  yesterday.  The  following 
is  a  small  specimen  of  his  language.  "  The  Fa- 
"ther  is  God,  the  Son  is  God,  and  the  Holy 
"  Ghost  is  God,  and  every  one  of  them  is  God." 
"  The  name  of  the  Father  is  God  Almighty,  the 
■"  Most  High,  Lord  of  Hosts,  &c.   These  names 

^^  BELONG  TO  THE  SoN  LIKEWISE.''* 

The  same  Father,  in  his  work  De  Prcvscrip- 
tio7ie,  gives  a  creed,  which  he  calls  Regula 
Fideij  in  which  is  found  the  following  article. 
^^We  believe  that  Christ  was  the  Word,  by 
^^  whom  God  made  the  worlds,  and  who,  at  vari- 
''  ous  times,  appeared  to  the  patriarchs  and  pro- 
^'  phets."  And  to  this  "  rule  of  faith''  the  fol- 
lowing explicit  declaration  is  affixed — "  This  is 
^^the  Rule  of  Faith  which  was  appointed  by 
"  Christ,  and  which  admits  of  no  dispute  among 
"  us,  but  such  as  hereticks  raise,  and  such  as 
^^  make  men  hereticks." 

Minucius  Felix ^  Vfho  lived  about  A.  D.  220, 
taking  notice  of  the  calumny  circulated  against 
the  Christians,  that  they  worshipped  a  mere 
man,  as  God,  thus  repels  the  charge— 7^^  You  are 

■    *  TEBTrLWAK^  Opera.  Rigalt.  p.  500—519. 


I^TTER  IV.  135 

*^  greatly  mistaken  in  ascribing  to  our  religion 
"  the  worship  of  a  guilty  man,  who  was  crucifi- 
''  ed ;  and  in  thinking,  either,  that  a  guilty  man 
''  shouldj  or  that  a  mere  man  could,  be  acknow- 
''  ledged  by  us  as  God.  He  is  miserable  indeed 
^^  whose  hope  is  wholly  in  a  mortal  man ;  for  his 
'^  help  perishes  with  the  destruction  of  the  mor- 
^'  tal  nature."* 

Origen,  who  flourished  about  A.  D.  230,  and 
who  undoubtedly  was  the  most  learned  and  able 
divine  of  his  day,  thus  expresses  himself  on  the 
subject  now  under  consideration — "  When  you 
"  confess  one  God,  and  assert  in  the  same  con- 
"  fession  that  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy 
''  Ghost  are  One  God,  how  perplexed,  how  diffi- 
''  cult,  how  inextricable  does  this  seem  to  the  un- 
"  believing  !  And  again,  when  you  say  that  the 
"  Lord  of  Glory  was  crucified,  and  that  it  was 
"  the  Son  of  man  who  descended  from  heaven, 
^^How  perplexed,"  cries  he  who  hears,  but 
^Oiears  not  with  faith;  how  difficult  do  these 
"things  appear!  because  they  are  them- 
"  SELVES  IN  AN  ERROR.  But  do  thou  hold  fast^ 
"nor  entertain  a  doubt  concerning  this  faith, 

*  Miirvcii  OcTAT.  Jipolog  :  31. 


136  LETTER  IV. 

"  knowing  that  God  hath  shewed  this  way  ot* 
^'  faith  unto  thee.'^*  And  again ;  "  There  are 
^«  some,  indeed,  who  make  a  declaration  concern- 
''  ing  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost, 
^'  but  not  in  sincerity  nor  in  truth.  Such  are 
"  all  HERETiCKS,  who  indeed  profess  the  Father 
"  and  Son  and  Spirit,  but  not  in  a  right  and  be- 
"  lieving  manner  :  for  they  either  separate  the 
'^  Son  from  the  Father,  that  they  may  ascribe 
"  one  nature  to  the  Father,  and  another  to  the 
"  Son ;  or  they  erroneously  confound  them,  by 
"^  thinking  to  make  of  three  a  compound  God  ;  or 
"  by  supposing  only  three  different  names. 
"  But  he  wiio  rightly  confesses  the  truth,  will 
"  indeed  ascribe  to  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy 
''  Ghost,  their  distinct  properties,  but  confess 
^Hhat  there  is  no  difference  as  to  nature  or- 

"  SUBSTANCE. '^t 

Speaking  of  the  ordinance  of  Baptism,  Ori- 
gen  says,  "  When  we  come  to  the  grace  of  Bap- 
"  tism,  renouncing  all  other  Gods  and  Lords, 
"  we  acknowledge  one  God  only,  the  Father,  the 
"  Son    and   the   Holy   Ghost.'^      And   again ; 

*  Homil  VI.  in  Exod.    f  In  Epist.  ad  Romanos,  cap".  X, 


LETTER  IV.  137 

^^  I  believe  that  faith  of  the  Father,  the  Son, 
''  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  which  is  believed  by  all 

"  WHO  ARP  UNITED  TO  THE  CHURCH  OF  GOD.'^* 

Cyprianj  who  was  contemporary  with  Origen^ 
and  who,  though  inferiour  to  him,  in  learning, 
greatly  excelled  him  in  pastoral  zeal  and  fideli- 
ty, and  in  general  Orthodoxy,  expresses  himself 
on  the  subject  under  consideration  in  a  way 
which  cannot  be  mistaken. 

In  his  work  on  the  Unity  of  the  Churchy  he 
speaks  thus — ^^The  Lord  saith,  I  and  my  Father 
"  are  one ;  and  again,  concerning  the  Father,  the 
''  Son  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  it  is  written.  These 
"  Three  are  One,^  Whoever  does  not  hold  this 
"  UNITY,  does  not  hold  the  law  of  God  ;  does  not 
*^  hold  the  faith  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son ; 
^^and  DOES  not  hold  the  truth  unto  salva- 

*  Hoinil.  VIII.  in  Exod  XX.  It  is  freely  granted,  that  OrigeUf 
on  some  occasions,  expressed  himself  concerning  the  Saviour's 
Person,  in  a  manner  which  an  accurate  theologian  would  pro- 
nounce exceptionable,  and  unsafe.  But  when  he  was  called  to 
speak  directly  and  carefully  on  the  subject ;  and  especially 
when  he  undertook  to  say  what  the  Church  believed,  he  em- 
ployed the  language  above  cited.  Unless  we  make  him  a  com- 
mon liar,  and  a  liar,  too,  without  any  known  temptation  to  de- 
part from  the  truth,  we  must  suppose  that  the  Chtjuch  at  large, 
received  and  held  fast  the  creed  which  he  declares  they  did. 


138  LETTER  IV. 

"  TioN."* — Again,  he  says,  Christ  was  God 
^'  AND  MAN,  that  he  might  be  the  fitter  to  be  the 
"  Mediator  between  them.''  And  again,  "  This 
"  Christ  is  our  God ;  and  being  a  mediator 
"  between  two,  he  put  on  the  man,  that  he 
^^  might  lead  him  to  God  his  Father.  Christ 
"became  man,  that  man  might  become  like 
"  Christ.''! 

In  a  Council  at  Carthage^  called  to  deliberate 
on  the  re-baptizing  of  heretics,  and  in  which 
Cyprian  presided,  one  of  the  sentences  pronoun- 
ced was  the  following.  "  Our  Lord  said,  '  Go 
"  and  baptize  all  nations^  in  the  name  of  the  Fa- 
'^  ther,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghosts 
"  When  therefore,  we  plainly  see  that  heretics 
"  have  neither  the  Father,  nor  the  Son,  nor  the 
^'  Holy  Spirit,  they  ought,  on  coming  into  our 
"  mother  Church,  to  be  re-born  and  baptized." 
Another  sentence  pronounced  in  the  same  Coun- 
cil was  equally  decisive — "The  Lord  Jesus 
"  Christ,  our  God,  and  the  Son  of  God  the  Fa- 
"  ther,  hath  built  his  Church  on  a  rock,  not  on 
"  heresy.     Wherefore  those  who  are  out  of  the 

*7>e  Unit  at   Eceles :  §  5.  * 

t  Ailver.  Jiidisos.  Lib.  II.  sect.  10.  et  de  Fanit,  JdoU  Sect.  6. 


LETTER  IV.  139 

^^  Church,  and  stand  in  opposition  to  Christ, 
^'  scatter  his  flock,  and  cannot  be  considered  as 
^^  baptized.''     In   conformity  with  the  spirit  of 
these   declarations  was  the  unanimous   decision 
of  the  Council. 

The  same  devoted  martyr,  in  another  place, 
expresses  himself  in  this  pointed  manner.  "  If 
'^  any  one  could  be  baptized  among  the  heretics, 
^^  he  might  also  obtain  remission  of  sins :  and  if 
^^he  obtained  remission  of  sins,  be  sanctified, 
^^  and  made  the  temple  of  God.  I  ask,  of  what 
^'  God  ?  If  of  the  Creator ;  he  could  not,  who 
^'  did  not  believe  in  him  :  if  of  Christ,  neither 
*^  could  he  be  his  temple,  who  denies  Christ  to 
'^  BE  God  :  if  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  since  these 
"  three  are  one,  how  could  the  Holy  Spirit 
^^  be  reconciled  to  him,  who  is  an  enemy  to  the 
^^  Father  and  the  Son  ?''* 

It  is  very  remarkable,  too,  that  Cyprian,  like 
Irenausj  and  others  before  him,  having  occasion 
to  quote  that  strong  passage  in  favour  of  the  di- 
vinity of  Christ,  which  is  found  Romans  IX.  5. 
instead  of  doubting  its  appropriateness,  or  adopt- 

*  Bpist.  p.  73. 


140  LETTER  IV. 

ing  any  thing  like  the  modern  Unitarian  per- 
versionsj  falls  in  exactly  with  the  interpretation 
of  our  English  translators^  and  makes  it  to  read, 

^^  Of  xvhonij  as  concerning  the  flesh,  Christ 
''  camcy  who  is  over  all  God  blessed  forever P^ 

Dionysius  of  Alexandria,  was  one  of  the  zeal- 
ous champions  for  the  truth,  who  opposed  the 
heresy  of  Paul  of  Samosata,  which  will  be  men- 
tioned in  the  next  Letter.  He  is  strongly  com- 
mended by  J3asil,\  for  always  using  the  following 
form  of  doxology — "  To  God  the  Father,  and 
'^  the  Son,  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  with  the  Holy 
^^  Spirit,  be  glory  and  dominion,  now  and  for- 
^^ever,  world  without  end,  Amen!'' — The  same 
Dionysius,  in  writing  against  Paul  of  Samosata, 
speaks  in  such  pointed  and  unequivocal  terms  as. 
these — "  Christ  is  uncreated — ^He  is  the  Crea- 
^^tor  of  all  things — He  is  God  by  nature — 
"  He  is  consubstantial  with  the  Father — He  is 
"  immutable,  as  being  God — He  is  God  over 
^'  ALL,  our  refuge — He  is  the  Lord  and  God 
"  of  Israel,  &c.'' 

Novatian,  who  was  contemporary  with  Cyp- 
rian, is   one  of  the   most  powerful    witnesses 

*  Conira  Judtsos^  L.  II.  §  6.     f  Basil,  de  Spirit.  Sancio,  cap.  29. 


LETTER  IV.  141 

that  could  be  wished  for  on  the  subject  before  us. 
He  left  a  treatise  expressly  "  On  the  Trinity ^^ 
ill  which  that  doctrine  is  asserted,  illustrated, 
confirmed  by  numerous  quotations  from  scrip- 
ture, and  zealously  maintained,  with  a  clearness 
worthy  of  the  most  thorough  Trinitarian,  of  the 
Athanasian  school.  The  structure  of  the  trea- 
tise is  such,  that  it  would  be  difficult  to  make 
satisfactory  extracts,  without  extracting  a  num- 
ber of  pages.  Novatian  contends  for  three  Per- 
sons in  the  Godhead,  cautioning  his  readers 
against  Sabellianism,  on  the  one  hand,  and 
Tritheism  on  the  other.  He  maintains  the  eter- 
nal generation  of  the  Son ;  and  that  Christ  is 
very  God  and  very  man,  in  the  same  mysterious 
and  glorious  Person.  And,  finally,  he  maintains 
the  divine  personality  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
And,  what  is  w  orthy  of  notice,  he  arrays,  in  sup- 
port of  these  various  doctrines,  very  much  the 
same  series  of  texts  of  scripture,  to  which  the 
modern  advocates  of  the  same  doctrines  are 
accustomed  to  resort.  It  is  evident  that  those 
scriptures  which  are  now  deemed  decisive  on 
these  points,  were,  in  general,  viewed  in  the 
same  light  by  the  Orthodox  sixteen  hundred 
years  ago. 


142  LETTER  IV. 

About  the  time  of  Novatian,  lived  Arnobius,  a 
distinguished  father  of  the  church  of  Africa. 
This  writer  brings  in  the  heathen  as  objecting  to 
the  worship  of  Christ.  "  Our  Gods/'  say  they^ 
"  are  not  displeased  with  you  for  worshipping 
''  the  Almighty  God ;  but  that  you  make  a  God 
"  of  one  that  was  born  a  man^  and  put  to  death 
"by  the  punishment  of  the  cross,  (an  infamous 
^^  punishment,  only  inflicted  on  vile  men,)  and 
'^  because  you  believe  him  to  be  still  alive,  and 
^'  make  daily  supplications  to  him.''  To  this  he 
answers,  first,  upon  their  own  principles,  that, 
admitting  it  were  so,  that  Christ  was  only  a 
mere  man  ;  yet  he  might  with  more  reason  de- 
serve to  be  worshipped  for  his  good  deeds  to 
mankind,  than  either  their  Bacchus,  or  Ceres, 
Q\  Misculapius,  or  Minerva,  or  Triptolemus,  er 
Hercules,  &c.  But,  secondly,  he  answers  more 
closely,  upon  true  christian  principles,  that 
the  reason  of  their  worshipping  Christ,  was 
the  certain  knowledge  that  He  was  the  true 
God,  whom  they  could  not  but  worship  and  hon- 
our. He  proceeds-—"  What  then  ?  suppose  any 
"  one,  raving,  should  ask.  Is  Christ  God  ?  We 
"will  reply,  He  is  God,  and  God  of  the  inmost 
. ''  powers  o^the  soul."* 

*  Arnob.  Contra  Gentes — Lib  :  I.  30,  36. 


LETTER  IV.  143 

The  same  objection  is  proposed  by  Lactantiusy 
a  learned  and  eloquent  father,  who  was  a  disci- 
ple of  Arnobius,  "  They  (the  heathen)  are 
•^wont/'  says  he,  ^^ to  object  tons  the  suffer- 
^'  ings  of  Christ  by  way  of  reproach,  that  we 
''  worship  a  man,  and  one  that  was  put  to  a  no- 
"  torious  death  by  men.'^  In  replying  to  which 
objection,  after  having  largely  set  forth  the  rea- 
sons of  the  Redeemer's  incarnation  and  suffer- 
ings, he  particularly  answers  that  part  of  the 
objection  which  respects  their  worshipping  him, 
and  pleads  that  they  worshipped  him  as  one 
God  with  the  Father.  ^^For,''  says  he, 
^^when  we  speak  of  God  the  Father,  and 
'^  God  the  Son,  we  do  not  speak  of  different 
''  natures,  or  separate  the  one  from  the  other ; 
"  for  neither  can  He  be  a  Father  without  a  Son, 
"  or  the  Son  be  divided  from  the  Father :  for- 
''  asmuch  as  He  cannot  be  called  a  Father  with- 
''  out  a  Son,  nor  the  Son  be  begotten  without  a 
'^  Father.  Seeing,  therefore,  a  Father  makes  a 
^^  Son,  and  a  Son  makes  a  Father,  they  have 
^^BOTH  ONE  mind,  and  ONE  SPIRIT,  and  one 

^'  SUBSTANCE.''* 

*  Lactant.  Div.  Imtit.  I.lb.  IT.  cap.  29. 


144  LETTER  IV. 

The  celebrated  Confession  of  Faith  of  Gi'ego- 
ry  ThaiimatiirguSj  who  flourished  about  A.  D. 
235^  precludes  all  doubt  with  respect  to  his 
opinions.  It  is  as  follows.  ^^  There  is  one 
"  God,  the  Father  of  the  living  Word,  of  the 
^^  subsisting  Wisdom  and  Power,  and  of  Him 
''  who  is  his  eternal  Image ;  the  perfect  Beget- 
"  ter  of  Him  that  is  perfect,  the  Father  of  the 
"  only  begotten  Son.  There  is  one  Lord,  the 
'*  Only,  of  the  Only,  God  of  God,  the  Character 
''  and  Image  of  the  Godhead ;  the  powerful 
''  Word,  the  comprehensive  Wisdom,  by  which 
"  all  things  were  made,  and  the  Power  that  gave 
"  being  to  the  whole  creation :  the  true  Son  of 
"  the  true  Father,  the  Invisible  of  the  Invisible, 
"  the  Incorruptible  of  the  Incorruptible,  the  Im- 
'^'  mortal  of  the  Immortal,  and  the  Eternal  of  Him 
"  that  is  eternal.  There  is  one  Holy  Ghost, 
^'  having  its  subsistence  of  God,  which  appeared 
"  through  the  Son  to  mankind,  the  perfect  Image 
"  of  the  perfect  Son  ;  the  life  giving  Life  ;  the 
^'  holy  Fountain ;  the  Sanctity,  aiid  the  Author 
^^of  sanctification ;  by  whom  God  the  Father 
"is  made  manifest;  who  is  over  all,  and  in  all; 
"  and  God  the  Son,  who  is  through  all.  A 
"  PERFECT  ^RiisiTY,  whicli  neither  in  glory, 


>' 


LETTER  IV.  145 

••eternity,  or  wisdom  is  divided;  or  separated 
>^from  itself.^'* 

I  shall  only  add  to  this  list  a  short  quotation 
from  Atlianasius,  one  of  the  most  celebrated  Fa- 
thers of  the  fourth  century,  and  a  great  cham- 
pion for  the  Divinity  of  Christ,  and  a  Trinity  of 
Persons  in  the  Godhead.  I  do  not  make  the 
extract  so  much  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  you 
to  decide  what  the  opinions  of  Athanasius  him- 
self were  on  these  important  subjects ;  for,  that 
he  was  zealous  in  support  of  the  Orthodox  opin- 
ions. Unitarians  themselves  have  granted  with- 
out hesitation.  But  my  principal  object  is  to 
adduce  his  testimony  with  respect  to  what  was 
the  uniform  doctrine  of  the  church  before  his 
time — "  We  see  that  this  was  the  tradition,  and 
"  the  doctrine,  and  the  faith  of  the  church  uni- 
^^  versal,  from  the  beginning ;  which  our  Lord 
^'  himself  delivered,  which  the  Apostles  preach- 
''  ed,  and  which  the  Fathers  preserved.  For  in 
"  this  is  the  church  founded,  and  he  who  falls 
"  from  it,  can  neither  be  a  Christian,  nor 

^*  DESERVE    THE   NAME   OF  A  CHRISTIAN.       That 

*  See   CaVk's   Lives  of  the  Fathers^ATt :   Gregory  Thmma," 

tVrtrit<i. 


146  LETTER  IV. 

<'  this  is  the  very  faith  of  the  church,  they  (the 
"  opposers  of  the  Trinity)  may  learn  from  the 
^^  commission  which  our  Lord  gave  to  his  Apos- 
"  ties,  when  sending  them  forth.  He  commanded 
^^them  to  lay  this  foundation  in  the  church; 
^'  saying,  Go  ye  and  teach  all  nations^  baptizing 
^'  them  in  the  name  of  the  Father,^  and  of  the 
"  Sonj  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  But  the  Apos- 
''  ties  going  forth  taught  in  this  very  manner ; 
^^and   this  is  the  doctrine   which  is  preached 

•^^  THROUGHOUT      THE     WHOLE     CHURCH     UNDER 

''  HEAVEN."*  Again  ;  "  The  Apostles,  going 
^^  forth,  straightway  with  the  most  perfect  har- 
•^  mony  preached,  that  Christ  was  the  Son  of 
"  God ;  that  he  was  horn  in  Bethlehem,  of  the 
"  seed  of  David,  according  to  the  flesh ;  that  he 
^^  was  made  like  unto  men,  and  crucified  for  mea 
"  under  Pontius  Pilate,  They  declared,  that 
^^the  SAME  Person  was  God  and  man;  the 
''  Soi>  of  God,  and  the  Son  of  man ;  from  heaven 
^*and  from  earth ;  impassible  and  passible;  and 
"  that  He  was  no  other;  not  two  persons;  not  two 
'^  hypostases  ;  not  tw^o  objects  of  adoration.^f 

In  accordance  with  all  this,  it  is  remarkable 
that  the  Martyrs,  who  suffered  in  the  second, 

*'  Ad  Scrapionem.    f  Unum  esse  Christum — Opera.  Tom.  1.  p.  666. 


LETTER  IV 


147 


third  and  fourth  centuries,  were  generally  wont, 
in  their  last  moments,  to  pray  to  Christ,  and 
to  resign  their  spirits  into  his  hands,  as  their 
Creator  and  Redeemer.  Of  this  I  might  fill  a 
number  of  pages  with  examples,  from  the  wri- 
tings of  Eusebiusy  and  Jmbrose,  and  from  various 
collections  of  what  are  called,  the  "  Jets  of  the 
''  Martyrs/^  In  those  solemn  and  interesting 
seasons,  we  find  them  pouring  out  their  devo- 
tions in  such  language  as  the  following.  "O  Lord, 
'^  God  of  Heaven  and  earth,  Jesus  Christ,  I 
^'  bow  my  neck  to  thee  as  a  sacrifice,  who  livest 
^'  to  all  eternity :  to  whom  belongs  honour  and 
^'  power  forever  and  ever.  Amen.'' — And  again, 
— "  I  give  thanks  to  the  God  of  all  kingdoms. 
^^Lord  Jesus  Christ,  we  serve  thee.  Thou  art 
"our  hope.  Thou  art  the  hope  of  Chris- 
"tians.  Most  holy  God,  God  Almighty,  we 
"give  thanks  unto  thee  for  thy  great  name.'^ 
"Again;  "I  beseech  thee,  0  Christ;  I  give 
"  thanks  unto  thee ;  deliver  me,  O  Christ.  In 
"  thy  name  I  suffer  ;  I  suffer  for  a  moment ;  I 
"  suffer  willingly  :  let  me  not  be  confounded,  0 
"Christ!''  Once  more; — "O  Lord  Jesus 
"  Christ,  my  Saviour  and  my  God,  command 
"  that  my  spirit  may  be  received,  for  I  desire 


148  LETTER  IT, 

^^to   obtain   the   crown  which    thy  holy  angd 
''  hath  shewed  me;'^* 

So  much  for  the  direct  testimony  of  the  early 
Fathers.  In  the  substance  of  this  testimony 
they  ALL  CONCUR.  I  cannot  recollect  a  single 
WRITER,  prior  to  the  council  of  Afice^  who  so 
much  as  intimates,  either,  that  he  himself  deni- 
ed the  Divinity  of  Christ,  or  the  Holy  Trinity ; 
or  that  the  Christian  Church  denied  it.  The 
extracts  which  I  have  given,  are  a  fair  speci- 
men of  the  manner  in  which  the  writers  of  that 
period  express  themselves  on  the  subject,  when 
it  comes  before  them.  In  the  next  Letter,  their 
testimony,  to  the  same  amount,  but  under  a  dif^ 
ferent  aspect,  will  be  briefly  considered. 

*  Baron,  an.  259,  an.  301,  an.  302,  an.   303.  &c.  Etiseb.'  /fe' 
Martyr.  Palosst.  c-  11.  Ambros.  Exhort^  ad  Vir^ines,  L 


LETTER  Y. 


Subject  continued — Testimony  drawn  from  the  Heresies  of 
the  first  four  centuries — Remarks  on  that  testimony. 

Christian  Brethren, 

The  series  of  extracts  from  the  writings  of  the 
early  Fathers,  which  I  laid  before  you  in  the 
preceding  Letter,  have,  I  trust,  convinced  you, 
that  the  doctrines  of  a  Trinity  of  Persons  in  the 
Godhead,  and  of  the  real  and  proper  Divinity 
of  the  Son,  were  universally  maintained  in  the 
primitive  Church,  and  deemed  of  fundamental 
importance.  But,  for  the  purpose  of  illustrat- 
ing this  fact  still  further,  I  design,  in  the  pres- 
ent Letter,  to  inquire  what  those  opinions  were 
on  these  subjects,  which,  during  the  first  three 
or  four  centuries,  were  pronounced  Heresies, 
and  of  which  the  abettors  were  cast  out  of  the 
church,  as  unworthy  of  a  place  among;  those 
who  bore  the  christian  name. 


150  LETTER  V. 

If  it  be  a  fact,  as  I  suggested  in  my  first  Let- 
ter, that  Orthodoxy,  both  in  its  opinions  and 
spirit,  is  by  no  means  congenial  with  depraved 
human  nature,  and  that  the  leading  features  of 
Unitarianism  have  ever  been  most  pleasing  to  a 
worldly  taste ;  then  we  might  naturally  expect 
to  find  some  of  these  features  early  beginning  to 
disclose  themselves.  Accordingly,  various  forms 
of  heresy  respecting  the  Person  and  work  of 
the  blessed  Redeemer,  began  to  make  their  ap- 
pearance very  soon  after  the  christian  church 
was  established;  and  have  scarcely  ceased, 
from  that  time  to  the  present,  to  tarnish  her 
lustre,  and  to  disturb  her  peace.  Some  of  the 
most  remarkable  of  these  will  be  cursorily  noti- 
ced, and  a  brief  account  given  of  the  estimation 
in  which  they  were  held,  and  the  manner  in 
which  they  were  treated^  by  the  great  body  of 
believers. 

The  first  class  of  hereticks  that  I  shall  men- 
tion, is  the  Ceriiithians.  They  were  so  called 
from  Cerinthus^  who  is  alledged  to  have  been  a 
disciple  of  Simon  Magusj  and  who  lived  in  the 
apostolick  age.  Without  entering  into  detail 
concerning  tfhe  opinions  of  this  man,  on  other 


LETTER  V.  151 

subjects,  it  is  sufficient  to  state,  that  he  denied 
the  Divinity  of  Jesus  Christ;  believing  that 
Jesus  was  a  mere  man,  born  of  Joseph  and 
Mary;  that  a  superangelick  being,  or  influ- 
ence, was  united  to  this  man,  at  his  baptism, 
and  thereby  constituted  him  the  Christ  or  Mes- 
siah ;  that  this  union,  however,  was  not  so  com- 
plete as  to  make  one  person ;  and  that  it  was 
the  mere  man  who  suffered  on  the  cross, — the 
superangelick  being  having  abandoned  him, 
before  he  suffered.  What  kind  of  reception 
these  opinions  met  with  from  the  christians  of 
that  day,  the  following  testimonies  will  be  suf- 
ficient to  shew.  Irencdus  expressly  declares, 
that  the  Evangelist  "  John  designed  by  his  Gos- 
''  pel  to  remove  the  error  which  was  sown  among 
"  men  by  Cerinthus,^^  Jerome^  quite  as  directly 
and  strongly,  bears  witness  to  the  same  fact, 
"  Last  of  all,''  says  he,  "  at  the  request  of  the 
'^  bishops  of  Asia^  John  wrote  his  Gospel  against 
'^  Cerinthus  and  other  hereticks,  and  espe- 
"  cially  against  the  doctrine  of  the  Ebionites^ 
"  then  beginning  to  appear,  who  say  that  Christ 
''  did  not  exist  before  MaryP^  Irenaus  also  re- 
lates, that  the  Apostle  Johiy  while  he  resided  at 

*  Catalog:  Script.  Eccles.  in  Joann, 


152  LETTER  V. 

Ephesusj  once  going  to  bathe,  and  perceiving 
that  Cerinthus  was  in  the  bath,  came  out  again, 
hastily,  saying,  ^^Let  us  flee,  lest  the  bath 
^^  should  fall,  while  CerinthiiSy  an  enemy  of 
"the  truth,  is  within/^* 

The  Cerinthians  were  soon  succeeded  by  the 
Ebionitesy  who  appeared  early  in  the  second 
century,  and  took  their  name  from  Ebion,  a  dis- 
ciple of  Cerinthusy  who  seems  to  have  adopted 
all  his  leading  opinions.  At  any  rate,  he  taught 
that  Jesus  Christ  was  a  mere  man.  Dr.  Priest- 
ley has  laboured  much  to  shew,  that  the  great 
body  of  the  early  Jewish  christians  were  Unita- 
rians ;  and  that  they  were  called  Ebionites^  not 
from  Ehion^  their  alledged  leader,  but  from  their 
poverty ;  being  generally  a  poor  and  mean  peo- 
ple. Hence  he  would  make  us  believe,  that  they 
were  by  no  means  considered  as  hereticks ;  but 
that  they  formed  the  mass  of  the  Jewish  con- 
verts to  Christianity,  during  the  apostolick  age, 
and  for  some  time  afterwards.  To  those  who 
have  any  disposition  to  adopt  this  opinion,  I 
would  recommend  the  perusal  of  the  Revd.  Dr. 
Jamiesori^s  Vindication  of  the  Doctrine  of  Scrip- 
ture, and  of  the  Primitive  Faithp  coneej'ning  the 

*  Contra  ffareses.  Lib.  Ill,  §  4. 


LETTER  V.  153 

Deity  of  Christ;  and  also  Bishop  Horsley\ 
Tracts  in  controversy  with  Dr,  Priestley.  In 
these  works,  if  I  do  not  mistake,  they  wiU 
find  the  most  ample  evidence  that  Dr.  Priest- 
ley^ s  allegation  is  totally  unfounded ;  and  that 
all  antiquity  testifies,  that  the  Ebionites  were  a 
mere  heretical  sect,  and  not  acknowledged 
as  christians  at  all  by  the  Orthodox  church  of 
their  day.  Irenceus^  speaking  of  this  sect,  ex- 
presses himself  thus :  '^  They  who  say  that  he 
''  was  merely  a  man  engendered  of  Joseph^  die  ; 
"  continuing  in  the  bondage  of  the  former  diso- 
^^bedience;  having  to  the  last  no  conjunction 
''  with  the  Word  of  God  the  Father,  nor  receiv- 
^^ing  freedom  through  the  Son,  according  to 
"  that  saying  of  his  own,  If  the  Son,  therefore^ 
■"  make  you  free,  ye  shall  be  free  indeed.  But 
''  not  knowing  Him  who  is  the  Immanuel  of  the 
a  Virgin,  they  are  deprived  of  his  gift^ 
^^  WHICH  IS  ETERNAL  LiFE.'^^  Again  he  says^ 
^^The  truly  spiritual  disciple  will  judge  the 
"Jews,  will  judge  the  Mai'cionit es,  wiW.  judge 
''  the  Falentinians,  (both  of  whom  are  acknow- 
''  ledged  to  have  been  hereticks)  will  judge  the 
"Ebionites,     How  can  they  be  saved,  unless 

*  Lib.  HI.  cnp.  21. 


154  LETTER  V. 

^^  He  who  wrought  their  salvation  on  earth  be 
"God?"* — TtrtuUian  thus  speaks  of  this 
heresy — "John  in  his  Epistle  calls  those  chiefly 
•^^Anti-christs,  who  denied  that  Christ  had 
"  come  in  the  flesh,  and  who  did  not  think  that 
"Jesus  was  the  Son  of  God.  The  former  Mar- 
"  cion  ^Id,  the  latter  EhionP\  Besides  these 
testimonies,  Justin  Martyr^  Clemens  Alexandri- 
mis,  Origen,  and  Jerome  all  decisively  speak  of 
Ebion  as  a  heretick,  and  most  of  them  speak 
of  him,  as  separated  froni  believers,  and  out  of 
the  way  of  salvation.  Jerome,  in  one  place, 
speaks  of  him  as  "  that  heresiarch  Ebion." J 

In  the  second  century  also  appeared  Mar  cion  ^ 
an  Asiatick,  who,  being  expelled  from  his  fath- 
er's church  for  immorality,  went  to  Rome,  and 
espoused  the  cause  of  heresy.  He  denied  the 
plenary  Divinity  of  Christ,  and  taught  that  he 
had  not  a  real,  but  only  an  apparent  human 
body.  Marcion  seems  to  have  taken  his  sys- 
tem from  Cerdo,  whom  he  found  at  Rome ;  and 
in  his  opinions  respecting  the  person  of  Christ, 
Valentinus,  Basilides,  Bardasanes,  and  Manes, 
all  of  the  same  century,  appear  to  liave   sub- 

.   *  Lib.  IV.  cap.f3o.  4.    f  De  Prcescnpt.  c.  33.     *  In  Galat,  III. 


LETTER  V.  155 

stantially  conciirred.  Marcion,  ,  like  modern 
Unitarians,  mutilated  the  Gospels^  and  indeed 
the  whole  Bible,  with  great  freedom,  especially 
easting  out  every  thing  relating  to  the  genealo- 
gy of  Christ.  Accordingly  we  find  this  man 
stigmatized  as  a  heretick,  not  only  by  Ire?!- 
(Cus,  in  terms  of  strong  reprobation ;  but  also  by 
Justin  Martyr  J  who  formally  opposed  and  con- 
futed his  errors,  as  destructive  heresies  ; 
by  Tertullianj  who  wrote  several  books  against 
him,  in  which  he  condemns  him  as  a  gross  here- 
tick,   and  speaks  of  him   as  having  departed 

FROM  the  faith  AND  THE  CHURCH  OF  ChRIST  ; 

and  by  Polycarpj  who  not  only  denounced  him 
as  a  heretick,  but  w^hen  Marcion,  mortified  at 
Polycarp^s  treatment  of  him,  said, — "  Polycarp^ 
"  acknowledge  us  ;"  the  holy  man  of  God  repli- 
ed— "  I  do  acknowledge  thee  as  the  first  born 
"  OF  Satan.^'  This  anecdote  is  related  by  Ireiir 
ausj  who  was  nearly  contemporary  both  with 
Poly  carp  and  Marcion,^ 

Concerning  this  heretick^  Cyprian  also  writes 
in  the  following  manner.  "  Our  Lord,  after  his 
••  resurrection,  instructing  his  disciples  hovy  they 

*  Contra  Hareses.  Lib.  III.  cap-  3.  4. 


156  LETTER  V. 

^^  should  baptize,  says,  Go  ye^  therefore^  and 
"  teach  all  nations^  baptizing  them  in  the  name  of 
''  the  Father^  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy 
^'  Ghost,  Here  he  gives  an  intimation  of  the 
^^  Trinity,  in  whose  sacrament  the  nations 
^^were  to  be  baptized.  Does  Marcion  believe 
^'  this  Trinity  ?  Does  he  believe  the  same  Fa- 
^^ther,  the  Creator,  as  we  believe  in?  Does  he 
^^  acknowledge  the  same  only  Son,  Christ,  born 
^^of  the  virgin  Mary;  who  being  the  Word, 
^^was  made  flesh,  and  suffered  for  our  sins? 
"  Marcion,  and  all  other  hereticks  held  a  very 
"  different  faith.'^* 

Toward  the  close  of  the  second  century,  Theor 
dotiis  the  currier,  appeared  at  Rome,  and  pub* 
lickly  taught  that  Jesus  Christ  was  a  mere  man.- 
He  was  immediately  excommunicated  from  the 
church ;  and  by  all  the  principal  writers  of  that 
time,  and  for  several  centuries  afterwards,  who 
had  occasion  to  speak  of  heresies,  he  is  denoun- 
ced, not  only  as  a  Heretick,  but  as  one  of  the 
WORST  SORT.  Yet  he  and  his  followers,  of  course, 
asserted,  like  modern  Unitarians,  that  theirs 
was  the  true  Apostolical  doctrine.    In  answer 

*  Epist,  73,       / 


LETTER  V.  157 

to  this  plea,  as  made  by  certain  Unitarians^ 
some  time  after  Theodotus^  Caius,  a  Presbyter 
of  Rome,  thus  speaks — ^^They  affirm  that  all 
^^the  primitive  christians,  and  the  Apostles 
^^  themselves,  both  received  and  taught  these 
''  things  which  are  spoken  by  them  :  and  indeed 
"that  the  true  preaching  (as  they  think)  was 
"  preserved  even  to  the  time  of  Victor,  who  was 
"  the  thirteenth  Bishop  of  the  city  of  Rome 
^'  from  Peter ;  but  that  from  the  time  of  Zep- 
"hyrinus,  who  succeeded  Victor,  the  truth  was 
"  adulterated.  And  perhaps  what  they  assert 
^^  might  appear  credible^  were  it  not  that,  in  the 
"  first  place,  the  Holy  Scriptures  directly  op- 
"  pose  them.  Then  there  are  writings  of  cer* 
''  tain  brethren,  prior  to  the  age  of  Victor,  which 
"'they  have  written  in  defence  of  the  truth, 
"against  the  Gentiles,  and  the  hereticks  of 
"  their  own  time.  I  mean  Justin,  and  Miltiades,, 
"  and  Tatian  and  Clement,  and  many  others 
"besides;  in  all  whose  books  the  Divini- 
"  TY  OF  Christ  is  maintained.  For  who  is 
^'  ignorant  of  the  writings  of  Irenceus,  and  Meli- 
"  to,  and  the  rest,  proclaiming  Christ  to  be 
"both  God  and  man?  Of  which  number  are 
"  the  Psalms  and  Hymns  composed  by  the  faith- 


158  LETTER  V. 

^^ful  in  the  earliest  times^  which  celebrate 
^^  Christ  the  word  of  God,  ascribing  Divinity 
^'  TO  Him*  Since,  then,  the  ecclesiastical  doc- 
^'  trine  was  preached  so  many  years  back,  how 
'^  can  it  be  that  all,  even  to  the  time  of  Fictor, 
"  have  proclaimed  that  doctrine  of  which  they 
''  speak  ?  How  ai*e  they  not  ashamed  to  frame 
■"  such  falsehoods  concerning  Victor^  when  they 
*^  certainly  know  that  Victor  excommunicated 
"  Theodotus  the  currier,  the  chief  and  parent  of 
'Uhis  God-denying  apostacy;  being  the  first 
^'  that  called  Christ  a  mere  man  ?  For  if  Victor , 
*'  as  they  pretend,  was  persuaded  of  the  truth 
^'  of  their  blasphemous  doctrine,  how  did 
^'he  cast  out  Theodotus,  the  inventor  of  the 
^^  heresy?''* 

Contemporary  with  Theodotus  was  Artemon, 
who  seems  to  have  adopted  a  system  very  much 
the  same  with  that  of  the  Byzantine  currier. 
He  also  was  opposed  by  several  of  the  principal 
fathers,  condemned  as  a  here  tick,  and  exclu- 
ded from  the  communion  of  the  christian  church. 

About  A.  D.  220,  arose  Noetus,  of  Smyrna , 
an  obscure  man,  of  small  talents,  who  broached 

*  Euseb.  Lib.  V^cap.  28. 


LETTER  V.  159 

certain  opinions  concerning  Jesus  Christ,  which 
were  a  few  years  afterward  adopted,  in  sub- 
stance, by  Sabellius,  of  Africa^  from  whom,  on 
account  of  his  superiour  eloquence  and  conspi- 
euity,  the  system  which  he  maintained,  has 
since  received  the  name  of  Sabellianism,  Sa- 
bellius  rejected  all  distinction  of  Persons  in  God. 
He  alledged  that  the  Trinity  was  only  nonmial 
or  modal,  that  is,  that  Father,  Son  and  Holy 
Ghost,  were  only  three  names  or  offices  of  one 
and  the  same  Hypostasis,  or  Person.  He  affirm- 
ed that  Jesus  Christ  was  truly  God  and  man ; 
but  that  the  one,  undivided  Deity  was  incarnate 
in  him.  And  hence  he  and  his  followers  were 
sometimes  called  Patripassians,  because  they 
considered  the  Father  as  incarnate  in  Christ, 
and  were  charged  with  believing  that  the  eter- 
nal Father  might  suffer.  This  doctrine  the 
pious  of  that  day  considered  as  striking  at  the 
foundation  of  the  system  of  redemption,  and 
therefore  condemned  it  as  a  fatal  heresy.  Noe- 
tus  was  solemnly  excommunicated  from  the 
church,  and  his  doctrine  stigmatized  as  heret- 
ical, by  two  successive  synods ;  and  a  few  years 
afterward,  iS«6e//zw.y,  and  his  opinions  received 
the  same  treatment.    A  modification  of  the  same 


160  LETTER  V, 

system  having  been  adopted,  about  this  time,  by 
Beryllus^  Bishop  of  Bozrah,  he  was  opposed  by 
Origeiij  and  excluded  from  the  body  of  the  Or- 
thodox. He  remained,  however,  but  a  short 
time  under  this  discipline ;  for,  professing  to  be 
convinced  by  the  reasoning  of  his  antagonist,  he 
returned  to  the  communion  of  the  church,  and 
his  party  became  extinct. 

The  heresy  of  Praxeas  was  transiently  noti- 
ced in  the  preceding  Letter.  He  was  in  sul>- 
stance  a  Sahellian  ;  that  is,  he  denied  the  dis- 
tinction of  Persons  in  the  Godhead  to  be  any 
thing  more  than  nominal.  He  was  formally  con- 
demned by  Zephyrbms,  Bishop  of  Rome,  fn 
consequence  of  his  condemnation,  he  wrote  and 
signed  a  recantation  of  his  errors.  But  not 
long  afterward  he  began  to  propagate  them 
anew.  ^^For  some  time,^'  says  Tertidlian,  "\m 
"  a  hypocritical  manner  he  lay  hid,  craftily  re- 
''  taining  life  under  ground ;  but  at  length  he 
''  again  burst  forth,''  and  it  appears  was  again 
cast  out  of  the  church.  Tertullian  opposed  him 
with  zeal  and  Vigour,  and,  if  we  may  judge  by 
a  variety  of  circumstances,  seems  to  have  driv: 
en  him  off  the  field  with  triumph. 


LETTER  V.  lel 

The  next  conspicuous  advocate  of  erroneous 
opinions  concerning  the  Saviour's  Person,  was 
Paul  of  Samosata,  He  was  a  vain,  arrogant, 
artful,  and  licentious  man,  who  gave  great  un- 
easiness to  such  of  his  neighbouring  brethren  a^ 
were  friendly  to  exemplary  piety.  Paid  coinci- 
ded in  opinion,  almost  entirely,  with  modern 
Socinians  ;  in  other  words,  he  considered  Christ 
as  a  mere  man.  But  when  his  brethren  conve- 
ned to  ascertain  his  sentiments,  and  give  judg- 
ment concerning  them,  he  manifested  so  much 
skill  in  the  arts  of  concealment  and  equivocation, 
that,  for  a  considerable  time,  they  could  decide 
nothing  in  his  case.  In  the  first  Council  that 
Avas  convened  to  try  him,  he  went  so  far  as  to 
declare,  on  oath,  that  he  held  no  such  opinions  as 
were  imputed  to  him  ;  but  that  he  adhered  to 
the  Apostolical  decrees  and  doctrines.  This 
gave  so  much  pleasure  to  the  members  of  the 
council,  that,  before  its  dissolution,  they  united 
in  singing  a  hymn,  in  which  they  celebrated 

THE    PRAISES  OF  THE  SaVIOUR  AS  GoD.       But  it 

was  soon  found  that  he  had  acted  a  disingenuous 
part,  and  was  beginning  again  to  propagate  the 
opinions  which  he  had  disavowed.  Another 
Gouacil  was  called.     Again  he  denied  and  prc- 

X 


162  LETTER  V. 

varicated.  At  length  Malchion,  one  of  the  cler- 
gy of  the  church  of  Antioch,,  had  the  address  and 
the  fidelity  to  interrogate  him  in  such  a  rnhnner, 
and  to  press  him  with  such  effect,  that  he  could 
no  longer  escape  detection.  He  was  unani- 
mously CONDEMNED  AS  A  HERETICK,  and  DE- 
POSED   FROM  THE  MINISTRY.       The    hishops  wllO 

composed  this  Council  also  addressed  an  Epistle 
to  the  bishops  of  Rome  and  Alexandria^  giving 
them  an  account  of  the  opinions  and  character 
of  Paul,  for  their  information  and  warning ;  in 
which  they  exhibit  a  shocking  picture  of  his 
conduct  as  well  as  his  principles.  What  Euse- 
bius  thought  of  the  opinions  of  this  man^  will  ap- 
pear from  his  saying  concerning  him — "  The 
''  leader  of  the  heresy  at  Antioch  was  discover- 
^'  ed,  and  by  all  manifestly  convicted  of  another 
''  doctrine  than  that  which  is  preached  by  the 

"  WHOLE     CaTHOLICK     ChURCH     UNDER    HEAV- 

i(  EN.''*  It  seems  to  have  been  on  this  occasion^ 
and  prompted  by  the  mortifying  scenes  to  which 
the  heresy  of  Paul  had  given  rise,  that  Felix, 
bishop  of  Rome,  addressed  a  letter  to  Maximus 
of  Alexandria,  in  which  he  thus  speaks — "  We 
"  believe   that  our  Saviour,  Jesus  Christ,  was 

.     *  ErSEB.  mst^Lib.  VII.  cap.  29. 


LETTER  V.  163 

^^  born  of  the  Virgin  Mary  ;  we  believe  that  he 
^'  himself  is  the  eternal  God,  and  the  Word, 
"  and  not  a  m  :n,  whom  God  hath  taken  into 
"  hi:nself,  so  as  that  man  should  be  distinct  from 
'^  him  ;  for  the  Son  of  God,  being  perfect  God, 
^^  W;is  also  made  perfect  man,  being  incarnate 
^'  of  the  Virgin.*'^ 

Early  in  the  fourth  century  arose  the  celebra- 
ted Ariiis  of  Alexandria^  an  eloquent  and  pop- 
ular ecclesiastick,  who  taught  that  Christ  was 
the  most  exalted  of  all  creatures,  but  still  a 
creature,  and  of  course  unworthy  of  Divine 
honours ;  that  this  exalted  creature  was  united 
to  a  human  body  ;  that  in  the  person  thus  con- 
stituted there  was  nothing  more  of  human  na- 
ture than  the  Jiesh ;  the  Word  or  Logos  being 
the  soul  which  animated  this  body.  These  no- 
tions were  no  sooner  divulged  than  they  made 
considerable  noise ;  and  Arius,  being  not  only  a 
man  of  art,  acuteness,  and  eloquence,  but  also 
of  exemplary  morals,  succeeded  in  obtaining 
many  friends  and  advocates.  A  number  of  cler- 
gymen, and  some  of  no  small  distinction,  embra- 
ced and  openly  taught  his  heresy.     In  short,  his 

*  Fleurt,  h.  8.  c.  4. 


164  LETTER  V. 

adherents  became  so  numerous  and  bold,  that 
measures  of  a  more  decisive  character  than  usual 
were  thought  necessary  by  the  friends  of  truth. 
Accordingly,  A.  D.  325,  the  Council  of  Nice 
was  assembled,  by  command  of  the  Emperor,  to 
consider  and  decide  on  the  case  of  Arius,  This 
was  the  first  General  Council,  that  ever 
convened  in  the  christian  church.  Other  Coun- 
cils, comprising  the  ministers  of  large  sections 
of  the  church,  had  often  assembled  before^ 
and  some  of  them  were  truly  respectable  in 
point  of  numbers.  But  the  Council  of  JVice  was 
the  FIRST  in  which  delegates  from  the  whole 
christian  church  were  summoned,  by  imperial 
authority,  to  meet  on  the  business  of  the  whole 
Church.  In  fact,  it  was  only  about  that  time 
that  such  a  measure  had  become  practicable: 
For  it  was  only  in  that  very  year  that  Constan- 
tine,  the  first  Christian  Emperor,  became  the 
sole  head  of  the  empire. 

When  the  Council  came  together,  it  was  found 
extremely  difficult  to  obtain  from  Arius  any  sat- 
isfactory explanation  of  his  views.  Like  Paid 
of  Samomta,  he  discovered  a  strong  disposition 
to  evade  and  equivocate,  and  actually  baffled. 


LETTER  V.  X65 

for  some  time,  the  attempts  of  the  most  ingen- 
ious and  learned  of  the  orthodox,  to  specify  and 
bring  to  light  his  errors.  At  length,  by  adopt- 
ing some  expressions  which  were  thought  to  be 
of  sufficiently  discriminating  import,  they  suc- 
ceeded in  detecting  and  exhibiting  his  opinions 
in  their  real  deformity.  These  opinions  were 
condemned  as  heretical,  by  an  almost  unanimous 
vote  of  the  Council,  and  a  creed  drawn  up  and 
signed,  in  substance  the  same  with  that  which 
we  now  commonly  call  the  Nicene  Creed.  Out 
of  more  than  six  hundred  members  of  which  it 
was  composed,  only  twenty  two  or  twenty  three 
dissented  from  the  final  judgment,  and  of  these 
dissentients,  twenty  at  length  yielded,  and  sub- 
scribed the  Orthodox  synodical  creed.  Arms 
and  two  of  his  adherents  in  the  Synod,  persis- 
ting in  their  refusal  to  subscribe,  were  not  only 
condemned  as  hereticks,  but  also  deposed  from 
the  ministry,  and  excommunicated  from  the 
church. 

It  may  not  be  improper  to  mention  that  Ace- 
sius^  a  Novatian  bishop,  being  present  at  the 
Council,  was  asked  by  the  Emperor  Constantinej 
whether  he  assented  to  its  judgment?  He  repli- 


166  LETTER  V. 

ed — ^^The  Council  has  decreed  nothing  new. 
^'  So  I  have  always  understood  the  church  to 
'^'^have  received,  even  from  the  times  of  the 
^^  Apostles."* 

The  Greedy  as  drawn  up  and  ratified  by  the 
Council  of  JViccy  differed  considerably  from  what 
is  now  commonly  called  the  Nicene  Creed ; 
which  was  modified  and  made  what  it  is,  by 
several  subsequent  Councils.  It  originally  stood 
thus — "  We  believe  in  one  God,  Almighty,  ma- 
^^ker  of  all  things,  visible  and  invisible:  and  in 
^'  one  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,  begot- 
^^  ten  of  the  Father,  the  only  begotten,  that  is 
^^of  the  substance  of  the  Father,  God  of  God, 
^'  Light  of  Light,  very  God  of  very  God,  begot- 
^'  ten  not  made,  consubstantial  with  the  Fath- 
"  er ;  by  whom  all  things  both  in  heaven  and 
^^  earth  were  made.  Who  for  us  men,  and  our 
<^^  salvation,  came  down  from  heaven,  and  was 
"  incarnate,  and  made  man,  and  suffered,  and 
^'  the  third  day  rose  again,  and  ascended  into 
^^  heaven,  and  shall  come  again  to  judge  the 
"  quick  and  the  dead.  And  in  the  Holy  Ghost. 
"And  the  Catholick  and  Apostolick  Church 
/ 

*  SocBAT.  Hht.  Lib.  I.  cap.  10. 


LETTER  V.  15^ 

'■'  anathematizes  those  who  say,  that  there  was  a 
^^time  when  the  Son  of  God  was  not;  or  that 
''  He  was  not  before  He  was  born ;  or  that  He 
''  was  made  out  of  nothing,  or  of  another  sub- 
'*  stance  or  essence  5  or  that  He  was  created 
^*  or  rautable.'-^ 

In  estimating  the  degree  of  importance  to  be 
attached  to  this  Creed,  let  it  never  be  forgotten, 
that  we  are  by  no  means  to  consider  it  as  ex- 
pressing the  individual  opinions  of  a  few  eccle- 
siasticks;  but  as  the  digested,  solemn  judgment 
of  THE  WHOLE  Church,  by  its  representatives, 
assembled  for  the  express  purpose  of  consider- 
ing and  deciding  the  conti'oversy  to  which  it 
related.  We  have  here,  then,  the  creed  of  the 
WHOLE  Christian  World^  on  the  point  in 
question,  professedly  and  formally  stated,  in  a 
single  document.  And,  when  those  who  are  ac- 
quainted with  the  history  of  the  Nicene  Coun- 
cil, remember  how  amply  the  subject  was  dis- 
cussed, and  with  what  peculiar  care  and  mature 
advisement,  the  strong  language  of  their  creed 
was  selected  and  adjusted,  they  cannot  fail  of 
seeing  in  it  evidence  amounting  to  demonstra- 

*  Socb!)lt.  Hist.  Eccles.  Lib.  I.  cap.  8. 


168  LB:T TER  V. 

tion,  that  the  doctrines  of  the  Divinity  and 
Personality  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
and  of  the  Trinity  of  Persons  in  the  Godhead, 
were  universally  deemed,  at  that  time,  as  es- 
sential   PARTS    OE   THE  CHRISTIAN    FAITH. 

Hitherto  we  have  contemplated  cases  of  de- 
parture from  the  Orthodox  faith,  with  respect 
to  the  Trinity  in  general,  or  the  person  of  Jesus 
Christ  in  particular.  But  it  appears  that  pious 
believers,  from  the  earliest  times  to  the  present, 
were  no  less  jealous  of  any  deviation  from  the 
truth  with  respect  to  the  Personality  and  Di- 
vinity of  the  Holy  Spirit.  A  few  years  after 
the  Arian  heresy  had  been  condemned  by  the 
Council  of  Nice^  Macedomus^  bishop  of  Con- 
stantinople, denied  the  Personality  of  the  Holy 
Ghost ;  maintaining  that  what  was  called  by  this 
name  in  scripture,  was  only  a  Divine  energy 
diifused  throughout  the  universe,  and  nothing 
properly  distinct  from  the  Father  and  the  Son. 
Macedonius  was  condemned  and  deposed  as  a 
heretick,  by  a  Council  at  Constantinople,  K.  D. 
360;  and  his  opinions  still  more  solemnly 
examined,  and  again  condemned,  by#the  second 
general  Cou/icil,  convened  at  Constantinople^  by 


^  LETTER  V.  109 

order  of  Theodosiiis,  A.  D.  381.  Here  is  anoth- 
er instance  in  which  we  see,  not  merely  a  distin- 
guished individual,  but  the  whole  Christian 
Church,  deliberating  on  a  new  form  of  heresy, 
and  solemnly  deciding,  that  the  Divinity  and 
Personality  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and,  by  conse- 
quence, the  Trinity  of  Persons  in  the  Godhead, 
were  to  be  considered  as  fundamental  articles  of 
Christian  truth. 

It  would  be  an  easy  matter  to  extend  this  list 
of  heresies  to  a  much  greater  length,  if  the  limits 
which  I  have  prescribed  to  myself  did  not  for- 
bid it.  I  might  mention  the  Carpocratians^  the 
Basilideans,  and  the  Montanists,  the  followers 
of  Hermogenes,  of  Photimis,  of  Apollinaris,  and 
of  many  more ;  all  of  whom  were  unsound  with 
respect  to  the  Person  of  Christ ;  and  all  of  whom 
were  condemned  as  corrupter*  of  the  faith,  and 
excluded  from  the  community  of  Christians. 
•Indeed,  I  can  candidly  assure  you,  that,  after 
devoting  much  of  my  life  to  reading  of  this  sort, 
I  cannot  recollect  a  single  instance  in  all 
ANTIQUITY,  in  which  any  individual,  or  body  of 
individuals,  who  were  known  to  deny  the  Trini- 
ty of  Persons  in  the  Godhead,  the  true  and 

Y 


17(5  LETTER  V. 

proper  Divinity  of  the  Saviour,  or  the  Person- 
ality and  Divinity  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  were 
regarded  as  Christians^  or  were  suffered  to  re- 
main in  the  communion  of  the  Church. 

When  we  take  a  retrospect  of  these  details, 
the  result,  I  should  think,  cannot  fail  of  being  as 
conclusive  as  it  is  striking.  Had  the  scriptural 
doctrine  concerning  the  personal  glory  of  Christ, 
been  asserted,  ever  so  pointedly  by  a  single 
early  writer  only ;  or  had  merely  a  single  form 
of  heresy  been  condemned  by  the  assembled 
church ;  the  enemies  of  the  truth  might,  per- 
haps, alledge  some  plausible  ground  for  doubt 
on  so  important  a  subject.  But,  as  if  to  pre- 
clude the  possibility  of  doubt  in  any  candid 
mind,  almost  every  form  of  heresy  now  knowi^ 
made  its  appearance  within  the  first  four  cen- 
turies, and  was,  by  name,  denounced  as  a  depar- 
ture from  tlie  true  faith,  and  its  advocates  put 
under  the  ban  of  the  church.  Those  who  con- 
sidered the  Saviour  as  a  mere  man  ;  those  who 
regarded  him  as  the  first  and  most  exalted  of  all 
creatures ;  those  who  held  to  a  mere  nominal^ 
but  denied  a  real  Trinity,  that  is,  w4io  held  to  a 
Trinity  ot^amesj,  but  not  of  persons  ;  and  those 


LETTER  V.  171 

who  rejected  the  Divinity  and  Personality  of 
the  Holy  Spirit;  in  short  the  Paidians — the 
Arians — the  Semi-Arians — the  Sabellians-—t\\t 
Apjllinarians  and  the  Macedonians^  were  each 
pronounced,  in  their  turn,  by  the  universal 
church,  to  be  corrupters  of  the  truth,  and  were 
publickly  treated  as  such.  Here  is  no  possibili- 
ty of  mistake ;  no  ground  for  doubt.  We  are 
presented  with  an  assemblage  of  decisions,  which 
illustrate,  support,  and  confirm  each  other; 
which  form  a  perfect  system ;  and  which  speak 
the  most  unequivocal  language.  Either  the 
WHOLE  Church,  from  the  time  of  the  Apostles^ 
to  the  fourth  century,  had  entirely  lost  sight  of 
the  truth,  and  become  the  unanimous  advocates 
of  error,  on  the  most  fundamental  of  all  doc- 
trines ;  or  the  Orthodox  opinions  concerning 
the  Person  of  the  Saviour,  and  the  Trinity  of 
the  Godhead,  were,  from  the  beginning,  the 
genuine  faith  of  Christians.  * 

Thereis  a  further  fact  worthy  of  notice.  It  is 
the  fact,  that  such  hereticks  were  not  only  exclu- 
ded from  the  catholick  or  general  Church ;  but 
their  right  to  the  name  of  Christian  was  sol- 
emnly and  formally  denied.     This  was  the  case 


172  LETTER  V. 

generally,  and  is  particularly  mentioned,  by  the 
early  writers,  with  respect  to  those  who  avowed 
heretical  opinions  concerning  the  Trinity,  or 
concerning  the  Person  of  Jesus  Christ,  or  the 
Holy  Spirit.  And,  accordingly,  all  baptisms 
performed  by  such  hereticks,  were  considered  as 
NULL  AND  VOID,  and  when  those  who  had  recei- 
ved baptism  from  them,  were  disposed  to  return 
into  the  bosom  of  the  Church,  they  were  always 
re-baptized,  or,  to  speak  with  strict  propriety, 
baptized,  by  the  Orthodox  ministers  who  recei- 
ved them.  I  might  produce  a  number  of  wit- 
nesses who  abundantly  testify  to  these  facts. 
Those  who  have  any  considerable  knowledge  of 
the  history  of  the  early  church,  know  that  Cyp- 
rian^ Tei'tullian^  Lactantius^  Jerome^  Augustine 
and  others,  speak  of  them  as  established  eccle- 
siastical practices. 

I  have  hitherto  produced  the  testimony  of  the 
early  Christians  themselves,  as  to  the  doctrines 
which  were  taught,  and  as  to  the  point  of  light 
in  which  departures  from  those  doctrines,  were 
considered  by  'the  body  of  the  faithfid.  But  it 
is  quite  as  easy  to  go  a  step  further,  ai\d  to  shew, 
that  the  Pagans  understood  the  Christians  to 
hold  and  teach  as  has  been  stated. 


LETTER  V.  173 

Pliny  certainly  understood  that  ,the  primitive 
ehristians  considered  and  worshipped  Christ  as 
a  Divine  Being.  Having  occasion,  as  Pro- con- 
sul of  Bithynia  and  Pontus^  to  transmit  to  the 
Emperor  Trajan  an  account  of  the  principles 
and  conduct  of  some  christians,  who  had  been 
brought  before  him  as  a  magistrate,  he  expresses 
himself  concerning  them  in  this  language : 
''  They  affirmed  that  this  was  the  whole  amount 
"  of  their  crime  or  error,  that  they  were  wont,  on 
''  a  certain  day,  to  assemble  before  it  was  light^ 
^^and  to  SING  a  hymn  to  Christ  as  God.''^ 
The  very  fact  of  singing  hymns  to  Christ,  was 
enough  to  determine  the  point  of  light  in  which 
they  viewed  his  Person.  It  was  a  solemn  act  of 
WORSHIP,  which,  upon  the  principles  continually 
avowed  by  all  christians,  could  have  been  offer- 
ed only  to  Jehovah.  But  we  are  not  left  to  ar- 
gue from  mere  inference.  Pliny  tells  us  expli-. 
citly  that  the  christians  avowed  that  it  was  to 
Christ  as  God  that  they  sung  praises. 

Hierocles^  president  of  Bithynia^  and  after- 
ward governor  of  Alexandria^  in  both  which 
offices  he  manifested  great  zeal   against  christi- 

*  Plin.  Epist.  Lib.  10.  Ep.  97.  98. 


174  LETTER  V. 

anitVj  in  his  abridgment  of  the  life  of  Apolloni- 
tis  Ti/anaus,  by  Pliilostratus,  undertakes  to  com- 
pare the  wisdom  and  dignity  of  the  heathen^ 
with  the  folly  and  superstition  of  Christians. 
^'  We,  indeed/'  says  he,  "  do  not  account  the 
^^  person  (Apollonius)  who  has  performed  such 
^^  actions,  God,  but  a  man  favoured  of  the  Gods. 
^'  But  they,  because  of  a  few  miracles,  pro- 
^'  CLAIM  Jesus  to  be  God."'*- 

Celsiis,  the  Epicurean  philosopher,  who  lived 
a  little  before  Origen,  and  who  wrote  with  great 
bitterness  against  Christianity,  beyond  all  doubt 
considered  the  Christians  as  believing  in  the 
Divinity  of  Christ.  He  says,  expressly,  that 
^'  Jesus  was  owned  by  Christians  to  be  the  Son 
^^  OF  GoD."t  He  says,  moreover,  that  "  Jesus, 
^^  elated  with  his  great  powers,  declared  him- 
<^^SELF  TO  BE  GoD.^'f  And  again,  Origen,  in 
answering  Celsiis,  brings  us  acquainted  with  a 
similar  charge.  "He  (CelsusJ  objects  to  us,'^ 
says  Ongen,  "I  know  not  how  often,  that  we 
"believe  Jesus,  though  possessed  of  a  mortal 
"body,  to  BE  God,  and  that  we  seem  to  be 
"  serious  in  this.'-^     These  charges   Origen 

*  See  Burgh's  fnquiry.  r>.  403.  f  OairrEif.  contra  Celswn.  L.  L  p.  21- 
t  Ibid.  p.  22.        §  Jbicl  Lib.  III.  p.  135. 


»' 


LETTER  V.  175 

does  not  deny ;  but,  on  the  contrary,  avows  that 
Christians  did  so  esteem  and  honour  the  Son 
of  God. 

Luciaii,  in  one  of  his  Dialogues,  takes  notice 
of  the  christian  worship.  Personating  a  chris- 
tian instructing  a  catechumen,  he  makes  the 
catechumen  ask  this  question,  "  By  whom  shall 
"1  swear?''  The  christian  instructor  replies, 
*'  By  the  God  that  reigns  on  high ;  the  great, 
'•^  immortal,  heavenly  God,  and  the  Son  of  the 
*^  Father,  and  the  Spirit  proceeding  from  the 
^^  Father,  One  in  Three  and  Three  in  One.'^^ 
This  Luciayi  had  evidently  learned  from  the 
christian  doctrine  of  the  Trinity.  He  else- 
where directly  charges  the  christians  with 
^•worshipping  their  crucified  impostoiy'  as  he 
blasphemously  styles  our  blessed  Lord. 

But  there  is  no  need  of  adducing  further  testi- 
mony to  establish  the  fact,  that  the  primitive 
Christians  were  understood  by  their  Pagan 
neighbours  to  consider  and  worship  Christ  as 
God.  There  is  nothing  in  early  history  more 
indubitable.     A  number  of  the  Fathers  express- 

*  LuciAX.  PhUopat. 


.176  LETTER  V. 

ly  state  the  fact,  and  plead  guilty  to  the  charge"; 
but  declare^  that  the  sole  ground  of  their  wor- 
shipping Christ  is,  that  they  consider  him  as 
TRULY  God  ;  for  that  they  abhor  the  thought  of 
giving  divine  honours  and  worship  to  a  creature. 

If  I  do  not  mistake,  Unitarians  acknowledge, 
without  hesitation,  that,  after  the  council  of 
Nice,  what  are  called  the  Orthodox  doctrines, 
respecting  the  Trinity,  and  the  Person  of  Christ, 
were  the  prevailing  doctrines  of  the  church; 
and  that  those  who  rejected  them  were  cast  out 
as  hereticks ;  their  ordinances  pronounced  in- 
valid ;  and  their  congregations  denied  the  name 
of  Christian  Churches.  Further  than  this, 
then,  there  is  no  need  of  pursuing  the  train  of 
testimony.  From  the  council  of  Nice  in  the 
fourth  century,  till  the  reformation  in  the  six- 
teenth, no  one  disputes  that  the  doctrines  of 
three  Persons  in  the  Godhead,  and,  of  course, 
of  the  Divinity  of  the  Saviour,  were  universally 
maintained,  by  those  who  were  considered  as 
correct  believers,  and  the  rejection  of  them  re- 
garded as  an  essential  departure  from  the  truth. 
But  it  ought  not  to  be  forgotten,  that,  from  the 
rise  of  the  Papal  Beast  uatil  that  of  the  Pro- 


♦* 


I.KTTER  V.  177 

testant  Reformers,  there  was  a  constant  succes- 
sion of  Witnesses  for  the  truth,  who  separated 
themselves  from  the  Man  of  sin ;  refused  to 
sanction  his  corruptions ;  formed  a  distinct  com- 
munion ;  and  maintained  a  constant  testimony 
in  favour  of  the  simplicity  of  the  gospel.  If 
may  be  worth  while  to  inquire,  what  these  wit- 
nesses held,  with  regard  to  the  principal  points 
in  controversy  between  the  Orthodox  and  Unita- 
rians. And,  if  I  am  not  deceived,  it  will  be 
easy  to  shew  that  they  all  concurred  with  the 
former. 

The  first  that  I  shall  mention  in  this  list  are 
the  Paulicians^  who  arose  in  the  seventh  centU" 
ry,  in  Asia  Minor ^  and  may  be  considered  as 
forming  the  most  conspicuous  and  importitnt 
portion  of  the  true  Church,  in  opposition  to  the 
Papacy,  for  150  or  200  years.  They  appear 
to  have  received  their  name  from  their  enemies, 
on  account  of  their  great  attachment  to  the 
Epistles  of  Paul  the  Apostle.  While  they  re- 
jected all  the  principal  corruptions  of  the  cath- 
olick  Church  ;  such  as  the  use  of  Images,  the 
worship  of  the  Virgin  Mary^  &c.  which  had 
even  then  begun  to  gain  currency  5  aud  while 

Z 


178  LETTER  V. 

they  acknowledged  but  two  Sacraments,  and 
appear  to  have  been,  in  the  main^  scriptural  in 
their  views  and  use  of  them  ; — they  concurred 
with  the  general  Church  in  maintaining  the 
doctrines  of  the  Trinity,  and  of  the  Divinity 
and  Atonement  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  con- 
stantly represented  them  as  being  the  founda- 
tion of  christian  hope.* 

The  very  same  statement  may  be  made  con- 
cerning Claudius  of  Turin^  and  his  followers, 
in  the  ninth  century.  While  they  separated 
themselves  from  the  corrupt  nominal  christians 
around  them,  and  publickly  renounced  all  the 
leading  errors  of  Popery,  they  maintained  with 
zeal  the  Divinity  and  Atonement  of  the  Sa- 
viour, as  the  life  and  glory  of  the  gospel 
system. 

To  these  succeeded  the  Wddenses  and  Albi- 
genses  ;  or  rather  there  is  reason  to  believe,  that 
the  disciples  of  Claudius  of  Turin,  settling- in 
the  vallies  of  Piedmont,  were  the  parents    of 

*  Our  information    concerning  the  PaiiUcians  is  far  from  be- 
ing ample.     The   excellent  Mr.  Milner''s  view  of  them  is  prob- 
ably correct.     With  him   Mr.  Gibbon,  as  to  all  th^points  which 
are  important  in  this  controversy,  coincides.    Decline  a?id  Fall. 
■  Sec.  chapter  54/ 


LETTER  V.  179 

both  the  Alhigenses  and  JValdenses,  who  receiv- 
ed their  names  from  the  places  of  their  resi- 
dence. That  these  venerable  Witnesses  for  the 
truth,  maintained,  unanimously,  and  with  zeal, 
the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity,  and  of  the  Divinity 
of  Christ,  in  correspondence  with  the  opinions 
of  those  who  are  now  called  the  Orthodox,  is 
one  of  the  most  indubitable  facts  in  all  ecclesias- 
tical history.  Dr.  Priestley^  indeed,  w^hile  he 
acknowledges  that  the  JFaldeiises  were  Trini- 
tarians, tells  us  that  the  first  traces  of  the 
revival  of  the  Unitarian  doctrine  were  to  be 
found  among  the  Albigenses,  Of  these  "  traces,'^ 
I  have  never  been  able  to  meet  with  the  small- 
est appearance,  that  deserved  to  be  considered 
as  even  plausible.  In  fact,  the  Waldenses 
and  Albigejises  were  undoubtedly  the  same  peo- 
ple, inhabiting  different  countries,  and  deriving, 
from  that  circumstance,  diiferent  names.  In  the 
Paprd  edicts  against  the  Albigenses,  they  are 
expressly  styled  Waldenses,  and  condemned  as 
such.  They  were  persecuted  as  professing  the 
faith  of  the  Waldenses  ;  and  they  uniformly  ac- 
cepted the  title  when  it  was  given  them,  and 
thought  themselves  honoured  by  it.  This  being 
so,  it  is  not  easy  to  see  how  the  Albigenses  could 


ISO  LETTER  V. 

be  Unitarians,  while  the  TFaldenses  were  deci- 
sively Orthodox.  But  we  have  better  evidence 
than  that  of  the  mere  inferential  kind.  John 
Paul  Perrin,  one  of  the  pastors  of  the  WaMen- 
sian  Churches,  gives  several  confessions  of  faith, 
and  other  authentick  documents,  by  which  he 
makes  it  appear  that  the  lFalden;es  and  Albigen- 
ses  were  entirely  agreed  in  doctrine ;  and  tliat 
the  latter,  as  well  as  the  former,  maintained,  in 
the  most  pointed  manner  that  can  well  be  ima- 
gined, a  Trinity  of  Persons  in  the  Godhead, 
and  the  true  and  proper  Divinity  of  the  Saviour. 
Under  the  head  of  the  ^^Old  Albigenses,^^  as 
well  as  the  TFaldenses^  he  gives  the  following 
articles  as  held  by  them,  and  as  "  handed  down 
^^  from  f.ther  to  son  for  several  hundred  years,'V 
prior  to  the  date  of  these  Confessions, 

Concerning  the  Trinity,  and  the  Person  of  the 
blessed  Redeemer,  they  speak  in  the  following 
language:  ^^  We  do  believe  that  there  is  one 
^^God,  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy 
^' Ghost/' 

In  an  ^^  Ancient  Catechism,''  for  tiie  instruc- 
tion of  their  youth,  the  following  questions  and 


LETTER  V.  181 

answers  are  found  :  "  QtiestionJ^  ,  ^^  Dost  thou 
^M)elieve  in  the  Holy  Ghost.''  ''^  Amwer,  Yes, 
^'  I  do  believe.  For  the  Holy  Ghost  proceeds 
^'  from  the  Father  and  the  Son,  and  is  one  Per- 
''  SON  OF  THE  Trinity  ;  and,  according  to  the 
''  Divinity,  is  equal  to  the  Father  and  the  Son.'^ 

"  Question,  Thou  believest  God  the  Father, 
^^  and  God  the  Son,  and  God  the  Holy  Ghost  :- 
^'  thou  hast,  therefore,  three  Gods.'' 

'' Answer.  I  have  not  three;  for  although 
^^  there  are  three  Persons,  yet,  notwithstand- 
^^ing,  there  is  but  one  Essence." 

In  a  ^^  Brief  Exposition  of  the  Apostle's 
^^  creed,"  in  early  use  among  that  people,  there 
is  the  following  passage  : 

^^  We  believe  in  God  the  Father,  Almighty, 
'^  maker  of  heaven  and  earth,  which  God  is  one 
^^  Trinity  ;  as  it  is  written  I  John  V.  7.  There 
''  are  three  that  bear  record  in  heaven,  the  Fa- 
rther, the  Word,  and  the  Hohj  Ghost,  and 
^'  these  three  are  oneP 


182  LETTER  V. 

Nor  ought  it  ever  to  be  forgotten,  that  while 
these  excellent  Witnesses  for  Christ,  in  a  dark 
world,  maintained  the  doctrine  of  three  Persons 
in  the  Godhead,  and  the  Divinity  of  the  Son  of 
God,  they  also  maintained  in  their  purity  all 
those  precious  doctrines  which  have  been  regar- 
ded by  the  true  Church,  in  all  ages,  as  funda- 
mental ; — such  as  the  original  corruption  of  our 
nature— the  atonement  of  the  Saviour — justifica- 
tion by  his  righteousness  alone — and  the  neces- 
sity of  regeneration  and  sanctification  by  his 
Holy  Spirit.  Nay,  not  only  did  this  system 
distinguish  those  humble  followers  of  the  Re- 
deemer ;  but  I  am  persuaded  it  would  be  per- 
fectly easy  to  demonstrate,  that,  in  proportion  as 
simple,  humble  piety,  has  been  manifested  in 
any  portion  or  period  of  the  church,  just  in  tlie 
same  proportion  have  those  who  displayed  it^ 
been  patrons  of  the  same  humiliating  and  puri- 
fying doctriues. 

When,  after  the  JValdeyises^  John  WickUffe^ 
of  Great- Britain^  and  John  Hiissy  and  Jerome^  of 
Bohemia,  appeared  as  witnesses  of  the  truth, 
the  Divinity  of  Christ,  and  his  atoiiing  sacri- 
fice for  sin,/were  radical  principles  of  their  sys- 


LETTER  V.  Ig3 

tern.  Nay,  it  is  not  going  too  far  to  say,  that 
their  testimony  in  behalf  of  the  truth,  and  their 
opposition  to  the  corrupt  church  of  Rome^  were 
in  no  respects  more  conspicuous,  or  more  pre- 
cious, than  in  teaching  men  to  transfer  their 
confidence  for  acceptance  with  God,  and  eternal 
life,  from  the  miserable  superstitious  dreams  of 
human  merit,  to  the  atoning  blood,  the  perfect 
righteousness,  and  the  prevalent  intercession  of 
an  Almighty  Saviour.  This  was,  in  fact,  the 
ESSENCE  of  what  they  did.  Their  attacks  on 
particular  superstitions  were  the  body  and  the 
members ;  while  that  to  which  I  have  just  allu- 
ded, was  the  vital  principle  of  that  precious 
cause  to  which  they  devoted  their  lives. 

When  we  come  down  to  the  Reformation  by 
Luther^  and  his  ever-to-be  venerated  coadju- 
tors, the  same  fact  appears,  in  a  still  more  lumin- 
ous and  interesting  view.  Still  Jehovah  in  a 
Trinity  of  Persons,  and  the  atoning  sacrifice  of 
Him  who  was  very  God  and  very  man,  that  who- 
soever believeth  in  Him  might  not  perish j  but 
have  everlasting  life,  are  not  only  found  to  make 
a  part  of  the  system  of  those  blessed  men  ;  but 
to  form  the  foundation,  nay  the  Alpha  and 


184  LETTER  V. 

the  Omega,  the  beginning  and  the  end,  the 
LIFE  and  the  glory  of  their  system;  Yes^ 
every  one  knows,  that  the  friends  of  the  Refor- 
mation, whether  led,  nnder  God^  by  Zuingle,  in 
Sxvitzei'land,  by  Luther,  in  Germany,  by  Calvin^ 
in  Geneva  and  France^  by  Cranmer,  in  Eng- 
land, by  Knox,  in  Scotland,  or  by  other  ilhistri- 
ous  servants  of  Christy  in  other  parts  of  Eu- 
rope, were  all  agreed  in  i  his  general  sys- 
tem. I  defy  any  one  to  produce  me  a  single 
individual,  during  that  eventful  period^  who 
materially  departed  from  any  of  the  doctrines 
embraced  in  this  system,  without  being,  as  soon 
as  known,  stigmatized  as  a  here  tick,  and  cast 
out  of  the  Church. 

Accordingly,  (for  nothing  is  so  decisive,  on  a 
subject  like  this  as  matter  of  fcict)  when  the  dif- 
ferent Protestant  Churches^  in  the  sixteenth 
century,  undertook  to  frame  and  publish  their 
ecclesiastical  Formulas,  and  Creeds,  they  all^ 
WITHOUT  A  single  exceptio>:,  distinctly  re- 
cognized in  those  creeds,  the  unity  of  God ;  the 
Trinity  of  Persons  in  the  Godhead ;  the  eternal 
Generation  and  Divinity  of  the  Son^;  the  union 
of  his  Divine  and  human  natures  in  one  Per- 


LETTER  V.  185 

son,  and  the  distinct  Personality  and  Divinity 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.  The  most  cursory  glance 
at  th a. Confessions  of  Faith  of  the  Churches  of 
England^  Scotland^  France^  Holland^  Geneva^ 
Switzerland,  Germany^  Bohemia,  Poland,  not 
to  mention  several  others,  will  convince  any  one, 
not  only  that  the  articles  of  doctrine  above 
mentioned,  were  all  universally  received  in 
those  churches ;  but  also,  that,  from  the  careful 
and  pointed  manner  in  which  they  are  stated, 
they  were  regarded  as  fundamental  articles  of 
the  christian  system.  Whence  this  remarkable 
harmony?  How  are  we  to  account  for  it,  that, 
amidst  so  much  diversity  of  situation  and  habit, 
and  while  they  discovered  so  much  readiness 
to  throw  off  the  superstitions  of  the  Church 
of  Rome,  they  should  still  unanimously  con- 
cur in  maintaining  a  set  of  doctrines,  which,  if 
Unitarians  be  correct,  are  entirely  and  grossly 
idolatrous  ? 

I  know  it  has  been  said  by  Unitarians,  that 
the  Reformers  found  the  doctrines  of  the  Trini- 
ty, and  the  Deity  and  atonement  of  Christ, 
already  consecrated  by  the  Formulas  and  Cate- 
chisms of  the  Romish  Churchy  that  their 
A  2 


186  LETTER  V. 

own  prejudices  were  in  favour  of  them ;  and 
that  they  had  neither  sufficient  light,  nor  suffi- 
cient boldness  to  reject  them,  while  they  cast 
off  the  trammels  of  some  more  prominent  and 
appalling  corruptions.  This  plea  is  at  once 
weak  and  erroneous.  When  the  Reformers  had 
deliberately  dared  to  draw  down  upon  them- 
selves the  hottest  vengeance  of  the  Papacy,  by 
openly  teaching  that  the  Bishop  of  Rome  was 
Anti- Christ,  and  that  the  Redeemer  alone 
was  the  Head  of  the  church;  when  they  had 
ventured,  without  scruple,  to  denounce  as  un- 
scriptural  abominations.  Purgatory,  Transub- 
stantiation.  Prayers  for  the  dead.  Image  wor- 
ship, the  worship  of  the  Virgin  Mary^  Indul- 
gences, withholding  the  Scriptures,  and  the 
cup  in  the  Eucharist,  from  the  common  people, 
and  all  that  enormous  system  of  human  merits 
by  which  the  Pope  and  his  emissaries,  had  so 
long  contrived  to  fill  their  own  coffers,  and  to 
enslave  the  minds  of  men  : — I  say,  when  they 
dared  openly  to  attack  all  these  as  unscriptural 
abominations — -is  it  supposeable  that  they  would 
be  very  timid  or  scrupulous  about  rejecting  a 
doctrine,  which  was  far  less  connected  with  the 
interests  or, the  feelings  of  any  portion  of  the 


LETTER  V.  ISr 

Gommunityj  in  or  out  of  power  ?  Now,  that,  in 
these  circumstances,  when  they  discovered  so 
little  backwarJness  to  reject  whatever  the  Bi- 
ble did  not  appear  to  them  to  sanction ;  and 
when  they  actually  differed  among  themselves, 
respecting  church  government,  respecting  the 
Saviour's  presence  in  the  Eucharist,  respecting 
the  propriety  of  placing  pictures  and  images 
in  churches,  and  some  other  smaller  points; — 
that  they  should  all  concur,  amidst  their  di- 
versities of  residence,  and  light,  and  early  hab- 
it, in  maintaining  the  doctrines  alluded  to,  and 
not  merely  maintaining  them,  but  in  laying  the 
UTMOST  STRESS  upon  them,  as  essential  to 
THE  Gospel  ;  is  surely  conclusive  proof  that 
they  retained  these  doctrines,  not  because  the 
Church  had  long  believed  them ;  but  because 
they  were  persuaded  that  they  found  them  in 
the  Word  of  God. 

But  it  is  an  utter  misrepresentation  to  say, 
that  the  venerable  Reformers  merely  retained 
the  doctrines  alluded  to,  as  they  found  them  in 
the  Romish  Church.  I  know  that  some  modern 
writers  are  fond  of  representing  the  Reforma- 
tion, as  a  mere  successful  effort,  on  the  part  of 


188  LETTER  V. 

a  few  discerning  and  good  men,  to  shake  off  the 
tyranny  of  the  Pope,  and  an  oppressive  burden 
of  Papal  rites  and  superstitions.     But  this  view 
of  the  subject  is  altogether  inadequate,  and  even 
false.     That  which  the  Reformers   were  called 
upon,  and  were  employed  as  instruments,  by  a 
sovereign  God,  to  accomplish,  was,  not  merely 
to   demolish  a  fabrick  of   ecclesiastical   despo- 
tism ;  not  merely  to  take  away  a  mass  of  cere- 
monial   corruptions ;    but  it   was   to   restore 
Christ    to    that    throne    in   his    church, 
which  had  been  for  ages  filled  by  human  idols. 
It  is  true,  the  doctrines  of  a  Trinity  of  Persons 
in  the    Godhead,    and  of  the    Deity   of   Jesus 
Christ,  had  been  long  nominally  maintained  in 
the  Church  of  Rome ;  but  they  were  maintain- 
e^d  in  name  only.     While  the  votaries  of  that 
wretched  system  said  much,  and  wrote  much, 
concerning    the    Divinity   of   Christ,    and  the 
atonement  of  Christ,  they,  in  fact,  made  little 
of   either.       Canonized   saints,    relicks,    indul- 
gences, and  an  impious  system  of  human  mer- 
it, were  substituted  in  the  place  of  that  blood 
which  cleanseth  from  all  siii.     To  bring  back 
the     doctrine     of    Christ     crucified,    from 
its  long  bamshment,  and  its  miserable  perver- 


LETTER  V.  189 

sioiis,  may  be  said,  without  hesitation,  to  have 
been  the  grand  object  of  the  Reformers  ; 
and  the  object  in  which  they  were  all  united. 
Other  things  were  evidently  regarded  as  im- 
portant, just  in  proportion  to  the  degree  in 
which  they  were  subservient  to  this,  their  first 
AND  HIGHEST  PURPOSE.  The  doctriucs  espous- 
ed by  the  Orthodox,  then,  in  opposition  to  Uni- 
tariansj  may,  with  just  as  much  propriety  and 
emphasis,  be  styled  the  doc irines  of  the 
Reformation,  as  any  opposition  to  Papal  des- 
potism, or  Papal  superstitions^  may  be  called  the 
work  of  the  Reformation  ;  and  to  insinuate 
the  contrary,  is  to  betray  either  an  ignorance  or 
a  prejudice  truly  extraordinary. 

In  the  review  of  all  this,  I  entreat  you,  my 
christian  Brethren,  to  lay  your  hands  on  your 
hearts,  and  then  say,  whether  those  doctrines 
which,  besides  their  plain  scriptural  warranty 
have  been  embraced,  with  affectionate  attach- 
ment, by  the  pious  in  all  ages  ;  which  were 
the  doctrines  of  all  the  early  Fathers^  who 
say  any  thing  on  the  subject ;  which  no  indi- 
vidual, from  the  time  of  the  Apostles,  to  the 
time  of  Luther ^  is  known  to  have  openly  rejec- 


190  LETTER  V. 

ted,  without  being  cast  out  of  the  Church ; 
which  were  the  doctrines  of  the  Pauliciam^  the 
JValdenses,  the  Albigen^es^  the  followers  of  JVick- 
liffe^  the  Bohemian  Brethren,  and  all  the  Wit- 
nesses FOR  THE  TRUTH,  duHng  the  dark  ages ; 
and  finally  which  all  the  Reformers  from 
Popery  concurred  in  maintaining,  as  the  very 
ESSENCE  OF  THE  GosPEL — I  repeat  it — Lay 
yovu'  hands  on  your  hearts  and  say,  whether 
these  doctrines  can  be  any  other  than  the  faith 
once  delivered  to  the  saints,  and  for  which  all 
christians  are  commanded  "  earnestly  to  con- 
tend V^ 


>' 


LETTER  VI. 


Unitarians  reject  the  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures — 
Difference  between  them  and  the  Orthodox  with  res- 
pect to  the  proper  office  of  Reason  in  examining  Reve- 
lation— Specimens  of  Unitarian  expositioii — Consequent 
ces  of  this  mode  of  expmmding  the  tvord  of  God. 

Christian  Brethren, 

As  the  Unitarians,  in  their  controversies  with 
the  Orthodox,  constantly  appeal  to  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  profess  to  cherish  a  very  profound 
respect  for  them,  it  has  probably  appeared  to 
many  that  they  view  the  inspired  volume  in 
the  same  light  with  the  Orthodox.  They  fre- 
quently speak  of  the  reverence  and  diligence 
with  which  they  and  their  friends  study  it. 
They  insist  upon  referring  every  question  to  it 
as  a  standard.  They  often  quote,  with  much 
emphasis,  the  celebrated  saying  of  Chilling- 
xvorthj  "  The  Bible,  the  Bible  is  the  Rbli- 


192  LETTER  VI. 

"gion  of  Protestants/'  They  object  to 
Creeds  and  Confessions^  lest  they  should  come 
into  competition  with  the  Scriptures  as  a  rule  of 
faith.  They  frequently  charge  the  advocates  of 
evangelical  truth  with  being  backward  to  ap- 
peal to  this  standard^  and  with  being  governed 
by  prejudice^  or  love  of  system^,  or  feeling, 
rather  than  by  the  Word  of  God.  In  short,  you 
would  sometimes  be  led,  by  their  language,  to 
suppose,  that  none  who  bear  the  christian  name, 
either  feel  so  much  reverence  for  the  sacred 
Scriptures,  as  Unitarians,  or  lay  so  much  stress 
on  their  authority,  as  an  ultimate  resort  in  con- 
troversy. 

But  this  is  a  mere  illusion  :  and  a  very  small 
acquaintance  with  their  writers  and  preachers 
will  be  quite  suiTicient  to  dissipate  it.  I  asser- 
ted, in  the  first  Letter,  that  Unitarians  common- 
ly deny  the  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures,  and 
produced  some  testimony  in  support  of  my  as- 
sertion ;  but  the  subject  is  worthy  of  more  par- 
ticular notice.  In  my  view  the  manner  in  which 
they  consider  and  treat  the  Scriptures,  is,  next 
to  their  rejection  of  the  Red eemer'*s  true  glory, 
one  of  the/most  conclusive  evidences  of  the  vital 


LETTER  VI.  i93 

rottenness  of  their  system.  Some,  Unitarians, 
indeed^  profess,  in  words,  to  believe  in  the  inspi- 
ration of  the  Word  of  God ;  but  even  they^  when 
they  come  to  explain  themselves,  plainly  shew 
that  it  is  not  the  reality,  but  the  7iame  only,  of 
inspiration  which  they  admit.  They  set  out 
with  a  principle  concerning  the  inspired  vol- 
ume, which  almost  entirely  nullifies  it,  at  once^ 
as  a  rule  of  faith.  According  to  them.  Reason^ 
after  all,  is  the  only  safe  and  adequate  guide. 
They  assume  it  to  be  the  prerogative  of  reason 
to  sit  in  judgment  upon  Revelation,  and  to 
modify,  or  expunge  from  it,  every  thing  which 
that  reason  cannot  comprehend,  or  does  not  ap- 
prove. Of  course,  whenever  they  meet  with  a 
passage  which  appears  hostile  to  their  general 
views,  it  gives  them  no  serious  difficulty.  They 
find  an  easy  way,  either  to  silence  it,  or  to  make 
it  speak  agreeably  to  their  wishes. 

It  is  true  the  Orthodox  also  profess  to  employ 
reason  in  their  inquiries  respecting  Revelation ; 
but  the  essential  difference  between  them  and 
Unitarians,  as  to  this  point,  lies  here.  The  Or- 
thodox maintain,  that  our  own  reason  is  alto- 
gether insufficient  to  guide  us  in  spiritual  things  i 
B2^ 


194  LETTER  VL 

that  we  stand  in  need  of  a  revelation  from 
heaven,  to  inform  lis  concerning  the  Divine 
character,  concerning  our  own  condition,  and 
the  means  of  obtaining  eternal  happiness ;  and 
that  such  a  revelation  has  actually  been  given 
to  us,  to  enlighten  our  darkness,  and  bring  us 
accjuainted  with  what  we  otherwise  could  not 
have  known.  They  suppose,  therefore,  that 
since  it  is  the  weakness  and  utter  insufficiency 
of  our  reason,  that  renders  a  revelation  neces- 
sary, nothing  can  be  more  presumptuous,  or 
indeed  more   irrational,   than  to    undertake  to 

judge    WHAT    OUGHT    TO    BE    REVEALED.       They 

conclude,  of  course,  that  the  only  legitimate 
province  of  reason,  in  examining  revelation, 
embraces  two  points  of  inquiry,  viz.  first — Is 
there  evidence  that  a  revelation  has  been  giv- 
en ?  And  secondly — What  does  that  revelation, 
in  fact,  contain  ?  In  other  words,  have  we  satis- 
factory proof  that  God  has  spoken?  and,  if  so, 
WHAT  has  He  said  ?  Having  ascertained  thus 
much,  the  Orthodox  suppose  that  the  proper 
office  of  reason  there  ends.  For  if  God  have 
spoken,  we  have  nothing  to  do  but  humbly  to  re- 
ceive vvhat  He  has  revealed ;  to  submit  ourselves 
without  reserve  to  his  teaching.     Whatever  is 


LETTER  VI.  195 

clearly  and  indisputably  taught  in  Scripture, 
they  consider  themselves  as  bound  implicitly  to 
believe,  without  another  question.  To  under- 
take to  judge  whether  that  which  we  find  in  a 
revelation  opiifessed  to  be  from  God,  is  reason^ 
able  and  credible,  or  not,  is  really  neither  more 
nor  less  than  undertaking  to  judge  what  God 
OUGHT  TO  REVEAL ;  wliilc  the  facts,  that  we 
need,  and  have  received  a  revelation,  pre- sup- 
pose, froiU  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  that  we 
are  not  capable  of  judging.  Is  not  such  an  as- 
su  nption  as  absurd  as  it  is  impious  ?  Is  it  not,  in 
fact,  as  Lord  Bacon  long  ago  observed,  treating 
God  just  as  we  should  treat  a  suspected  wit- 
ness, that  is,  measuring  his  title  to  our  cre- 
dence, not  by  his  personal  character^  but  by  the 
probability  of  his  testimony?  Is  it  not  prac- 
tically saying,  that  we  cannot,  and  will  not,  rely 
on  the  veracity  of  God;  that  we  cannot  and 
will  not  trust  Him  further  than  we  can  see ;  iu 
one  word,  that  we  will  give  credit  to  the  mat- 
ter, but  not  to  the  Author  of  Revelation?  Is 
this  receiving  the  kingdom  of  God  as  a  little 
child,  without  which;  we  are  told;  that  no  one 
ean  enter  therein  ? 


196  LETTER  Vi. 

But  Unitarians  view  this  subject  in  a  very 
different  light.  After  having  applied  their  rea- 
son to  the  evidences  of  revelation,  and  ascer- 
tained that  it  is  from  God ;  they  consider  them- 
selves as  at  perfect  liberty  to  go  further,  and  to 
apply  it  to  the  alledged  facts  and  doctrines  of 
revelation ;  to  inquire  whether  these  facts  and 
doctrines  are  reasonable  and  credible  in  them- 
selves ;  that  isj  whether  they  are  such  as  it  be- 
comes God  to  reveal  ;  and  if  they  judge 
them  NOT  to  be  such,  to  reject  them.  In  plain 
language,  they  consider  it  as  the  province  of 
reason  not  only  to  decide  whether  the  Bible  is 
God's  word  or  not ;  but  also  whether  the  con- 
tents of  the  Bible  are  reasonable  and  w  orthy  of 
God,  or  otherwise.  Every  thing  found  in  it 
that  appears  agreeable  to  their  notions  of  rea- 
son, they  receive  as  credible.  That  which  they 
cannot  reconcile  with  reason,  or  which  their 
reason  cannot  comprehend,  they  reject  as  false ; 
insisting  either,  that  the  passage  which  contains 
it  is  spurious,  and  ought  to  be  expunged ;  or, 
that  it  is  impossible  it  should  mean  what  the  Or- 
thodox suppose  it  to  mean ;  or,  if  it  plainly 
mean  that,  and  cannot  be  construed  to  mean  any 
thing  else,  /that  the  sacred  writer  has  blunder- 


LETTER  VL  i^f 

ED,  or  been  led  by  some  popular  prejudice  to 
express  himself  in  an  unwarrantable  man- 
ner ! 

Nay,  some  Unitarians  of  great  name  and  in- 
fluence have  gone  so  far  as  to  maintain,  without 
ceremony,  that  certain  doctrines  are  so  manifest- 
ly  irrational  and  incredible,  that  they  ought  not 
to  be  received,^  even  if  the  Scriptures  did  ap- 
pear ever  so  explicitly  and  decisively  to  teach 
them.  The  spirit  of  their  argument  is  precise- 
ly the  same  with  that  of  the  celebrated  infidel, 
Mr.  Hume^  against  Miracles.  It  is  this.  "  The 
"  doctrines  in  question,''  say  they,  "  are  so  ab- 
^^surd  and  incredible,  that  the  presumption 
^^  against  them  is  stronger  than  any  evidence 
''  in  their  favour  possibly  can  be.  In  other 
"  words,  these  doctrines  are  so  perfectly  revol- 
"  ting  to  the  human  mind,  that  no  testimony  can 
"  BE  conceived  strong  enough  to  command  our 
^'  belief  of  them ;  because  no  testimony  in  their 
^^  favour,  can  be  so  strong,  as  that  which  their 
''  manifest  absurdity  and  impossibility  presents 
"against  them.  There  is,  from  the  very  nature 
"  of  things,  a  presumption,  against  their  truth, 
*'  which  NO  evidence,  however   clear,  can 


198  LETTER  VL 

"  overcome.'' — ^Unitarians  have  applied  this  ar- 
gument to  the  doctrines  of  the  Trinity,  the  In- 
carnation and  Atonement  of  the  Son  of  God^ 
and  the  endless  duration  of  future  punishment. 
They  utterly  deny,  indeed,  that  these  doctrines 
ARE  found  in  Scripture  :  but  they  do  not  hesi- 
tate to  say,  that  if  they  were  found  there,  they 
would  not  believe  them,  but  would  rather  have 
recourse  to  almost  any  assignable  supposition, 
than  sustain  the  testimony  in  their  favour.  They 
would  say,  "  These  doctrines  cannot  be  true. 
^^It  is  IMPOSSIBLE  that  we  should  believe,  or 
"  that  we  should  be  required  to  believe^  such 
^'  gross  absurdities.  There  must  be  some  mis- 
"  take  about  the  matter.  The  passage  in  ques- 
''  tion  has  been  dishonestly  inserted  by  some 
^'  interested  transcriber ;  or  it  has  been  unde- 
"  signedly  introduced  by  accident  or  careless- 
^'  ness ;  or,  the  sacred  writer,  if  he  really  wrote 
"  thus,  reasoned  inconclusively,  or  thought  pro- 
"  per  to  countenance,  out  of  respect  to  popular 
"  delusion,  what  he  knew  to  be  false :  at  any 
"  RATE,  we  are  resolved  not  to  receive  such 
"  doctrines   as   coming   from    God,    whatever 

''  MAY    BE    THE    EVIDENCE    WITH    WHICH     THEY 
.^' ARE  attended.'' 


LETTER  VI.  199 

It  is,  indeed,  readily  acknowledged,  that  if 
we  were  to  find  in  Scripture  propositions  plainly 
and  undeniably  contradictory  to  reason,  we 
could  not  receive  them.  If,  for  example,  we 
were  to  find  there  the  assertion,  that  something 
IS  and  IS  not,  at  the  same  time ;  that  God  is 
ONE  and  three  in  the  same  sense  ;  or  that  two 
beings,  or  quantities,  are  equal  to  each  other, 
and  UNEQUAL,  at  the  same  time,  and  in  the  same 
respect ;  we  might  venture  to  say,  without  hesi- 
tation, it  is  incredible  that  such  propositions 
should  be  true.  No  testimony  whatever  can  es- 
tablish that  which  is,  in  its  own  nature,  self- 
evidently,  impossible  and  absurd.  But  is  any 
thing  maintained  by  the  Orthodox  of  this  char- 
acter? Do  they  believe  that  God  is  one  and 
three  in  the  same  sense  ?  Do  they  not,  with  one 
voice,  as  was  observed  in  a  former  Letter,  sol- 
emnly declare  the  contrary?  Where,  then,  is 
the  contradiction'?  There  is  manifestly,  nay,  I 
will  venture  to  say,  there  is  self-evidently^ 
none ;  any  more  than  there  is  in  saying  that 
man  is  mortal  and  immortal  at  the  same  time ; 
when  we  know  that  both  are  true,  though  of  dif- 
ferent parts  of  his  constitution.  I  repeat,  then, 
a  number   of  the  doctrines  of   revelation   are 


200  LETTER  VI. 

ABOVE  our  portion  of  reason  ;  but  none  of  them 
CONTRARY  to  it.  A  man,  indeed,  may  say,  "  It  is 
^^  contrary  to  my  reason,  that  any  being  should 
''  be  every  where  equally  present  at  the  same 
"  time ;  or  that  any  being  should  create  worlds 
"  out  of  nothing  .-'^  Or,  a  malefactor,  at  the  bar 
of  justice,  when  the  judge  addresses  him  on  the 
importance  of  supporting  the  authority  of  the 
laws,  and  assures  him  of  the  necessity,  and  even 
benevolence,  of  awarding  exemplary  punishment 
to  transgressors ;  may  declare,  and  perhaps  with 
truth,  that  such  principles  appear  to  him  in  the 
highest  degree  revolting  and  unreasonable.  I  say^ 
some  persons  may  object  ^nd  argue  thus ;  nay^ 
they  have  done  so.  But  when  they  do  it,  they 
must  be  content  to  be  thought  very  foolish  and 
absurd  by  all  rational  men.  Every  one  will  say^ 
they  are  neither  competent  nor  impartial  judges. 
Now,  among  all  the  truths  of  revelation,  as  held 
by  the  enlightened  and  sober  among  the  Ortho- 
dox, there  is  nothing  in  any  other  sense,  or  in 
any  greater  degree,  opposed  to  reason,  than 
many  of  the  acknowledged  perfections  of  God 
are  opposed  to  it.  And  of  them  we  can  only 
say,  not  that  they  are  really  opposed  to  it,  but 
that  they  aye  above  it.     We  can  only  say,  as 


LETTER  VI.  201 

the  Bible  says^  when  speaking  of  those  perfec- 
tions^ Such  knowledge  is  too  wonderful  for  us  s 
it  is  high^  xve  cannot  attain  unto  it* 

That,  in  the  foregoing  remarks,  I  have  done 
no  injustice  to  Unitarians,  will,  I  presume,  be 
made  perfectly  manifest  by  the  following  quota* 
tions  from  some  of  their  most  distinguished  wri- 
ters. Indeed,  when  the  doctrine  of  the  plenary 
inspiration  of  the  scriptures  is  once  abandoned, 
and  every  man  feels  himself  at  liberty  to  reject 
whatever  he  finds  in  the  Bible,  which  appears 
unreasonable  to  his  oxvn  mind,  there  is  no  longer 
any  uniform  standard,  and  we  ought  not  to  won- 
der at  any  licentiousness  of  interpretation  or 
rejection  that  can  afterward  occur. 

Dr.  Priestley,  while  inculcating  great  respect 
for  the  Scriptures,  expresses  himself  thus — 
"  Not  that  I  consider  the  books  of  scripture  as 
"  inspired,  and,  on  that  account,  entitled  to  this 
"  high  degree  of  respect ;  but  as  authentick 
^^  records  of  the  dispensations  of  God  to  maa- 
"  kind,  with  every  particular  of  which  we  can- 
^'  not  be  too  well  acquainted.'^  In  another  place^ 
in  the  same  work;  he  says — "  If  you  wish  to 
C2 


202  LETTER  VI. 

^^know  what,  in  my  opinion,  a  christian  is 
^^  bound  to  believe  with  respect  to  the  scrip- 
^^  tares,  I  answer,  that  the  books  which  are 
^^  universally  received  as  authentick,  are  to  be 
^'  considered  as  faithful  records  of  past  transac- 
^^tions.  No  christian  is  answerable  for  more 
^'  than  this.  The  writers  of  the  books  of  scrip- 
^'  ture  were  men^  and,  therefore,  fallible ;  but 
^^all  that  we  have  to  do  with  them,  is  in  the 
^'  character  of  historians  and  witnesses  of  what 
"  they  heard  and  saw.  Of  course,  their  credi- 
"  bility  is  to  be  estimated,  like  that  of  other 
"  historians,  viz.  from  the  circumstances  in 
^^  which  they  wrote,  and  the  biases  to  which 
*^^  they  might  be  subject.  Like  all  other  histo- 
"  rians,  they  were  liable  to  mistakes,  with 
^^  respect  to  things  of  small  moment,  becaus.e 
^^they  might  not  give  sufficient  attention  to 
'^  them ;  and  with  respect  to  their  reasonings 
''  we  are  fully  at  liberty  to  judge  of  it,  as  well 
^^as  that  of  other  men,  by  a  due  consideration 
'^^of  the  propositions  they  advance,  and  the  ar- 
"  guments  they  alledge.''*  The  same  writer 
also   says  elsewhere,   "  I   think  I  have  shewn 

*  Letters  to  a  Philosophical  Unbeliever— Y^vX.  IL  Preface,  p.  13. 
again.  Letter  V., 


J.KTTER  YI.  20^ 

^^that  the  apostle  Paul  often  reasons  incon- 
^•clusively;  and  therefore  that  he  wrote  a» 
^^ANY  OTHER  PERSON  of  his  tum  of  mind  and 
^^  thinking,  and  in  his  situation,  would  have 

^^  WRITTEN,    WITHOUT    ANY    PARTICULAR    INSPI- 

^*  RATION.'^*  And  again  "  I  have  frequently 
'^declared  myself  not  to  be  a  believer  in  th© 
^'  INSPIRATION  of  the  Evangelists  and  Apos- 
^^TLES  AS  WRiTERs/^t  He  also,  on  a  variety 
of  occasions,  charges  the  sacred  writers  with 
giving  "  lame  accounts,^^  "  inconclusive  reason- 
^'  ings,"  and  "  improper  quotations.'^  J  Mr. 
Evanson,  another  distinguished  English  Unita- 
rian, says,  without  ceremony,  "  The  Evangelic- 
^•al  histories  contain  gross  and  irreconcile- 

"ABLt.  contradictions/^^ 

Mr.  Belsham  says,  that  in  the  Gospel  of  Johrij 
our  Saviour  sometimes  uses  metaphors  "  of  the 
"most  obscure  and  offensive  kind;''  that 
Paul^  in  his  Epistles,  introduces  "  many  harsh 
"  and  uncommon  figures  ;"  that  the  author  of  the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  indulges  himself  in  an 
ingenious,  but  FORCED  and  fanciful  analogy^ 

*  Uialory  of  the  Conmptions  of  Christianity,  Vol  II.  p.  o7Q. 

f  Letters  to  Dr.  Hordev.  part  I.  p.  132, 

T  Letters  to  Mr.  Burn — Letter  12t/^        f  Diss9nance,  p.  X. 


204  LETTER  Vl\ 

between  the  Mosaic  institutions  and  the  Chris- 
tian dispensation;   that  Jesus  Christ  was  born 
fifteen  years  before  the  death  of  Augustus,  and 
at  least  two  years  after  the  death  of  Herod; 
"SL  fact  which    completely    falsifies     the 
''  WHOLE  NARRATIVE  Contained  in  the  prelimi- 
^^nary  chapters  of  Matthew  and  Luke  ;^^  that 
to  argue  the  doctrine  of  the  Divinity  of  Christy 
or  even  his  pre- existence  and  superiour  nature^ 
from  the  strong  and   "  hyperbolical^'   expres- 
sions used  by  the  Evangelist  John,  ^^unsuppor- 
"  TED  by  any  other  sacred  writers/'  is  drawing 
a  grand  conclusion   from   very  ^^  precarious'^ 
premises.*      Damm,   a   German   Unitarian^  in 
the  same  strain^  says^  that  "  the  writings  of  Mo- 
"  ses  were  inspired^  in  so  far  as  they  instruct  us 
^'  concerning  God^  and  lead  us  to  God.  He  could 
^^know  the  age  of  the  world  no  better   than 
''  WE  DO.     The  history  of  the  fall  is  a  fable  ; 
^^and  though  there  is  much  truth  in  Moses^ 
^^  history,  the  dress   is  poetick.      In  Joshua, 
"  the   circumstance  of  the   conquest  of  Canaan^ 
"  ARE  FICTITIOUS.     The  books  of  Samuel  con- 
''  tain  a  multitude  of  falshoods.     There  are 
^f  no  prophecies  in  the  Psalms.     Dajiiel  is  full 

*  Calm  Inquirxjf,  p.  12,  19,  186,  &c. 


LETTER  VI.  ^05 

'^of  stories  contrived  or  exaggerated  by 
"SUPERSTITION.  With  the  other  Prophets, 
"Christians  haa^e  no  concern."*  Eichhorn^ 
another  German  Unitarian,  accounts  for  prophe- 
cy by  referring  it  rather  to  human  penetra- 
tion and  INGENIOUS  conjecture,  than  to  inspi- 
ration. Semler,  of  the  same  country,  on  2  Pe- 
ter I,  21,  where  it  is  written.  The  prophecy 
came  not  in  old  time  by  the  will  of  man ;  but 
holy  men  of  God  spake  as  they  were  moved  by 
the  Holy  Ghost  J  remarks,  "  Peter  speaks  there 
"according  to  the  conception  of  the  Jews. 
"The  Prophets  may  have  delivered  the  off- 

"  SPRING     OF    their     OWN      BRAINS     AS      DIVINE' 
"  REVELATION S.f" 

Let  none  say,  "  These  last  are  German  Uni- 
"  tarians,  whose  extravagances  are  well  known, 
"  and  between  whom  and  the  Unitarians  in  this 
"  country  there  is  no  alliance.''  Rely  on  it,  my 
friends,  whoever  may  endeavour  to  persuade 
you  to  believe  the  contrary,  the  fundamental 
principles  of  both  are  the  same ;  the  one  have 
learned  to  go  a  little  further  than   the  others, 

*  Ersktne's  Sketches  cf  Church  History^  i^c  Vol.  I.  p.  84. 
t  Erskiste's  Sketches,  ^c.  p.  71. 


206  LETTER  VI. 

and  are  only  less  restrained  by  piiblick  opinion ; 
but  the  others  will  probably  soon  overtake 
them.     Certainly  they  are  on  the  same  road. 

These  quotations  clearly  go  to  show,  not  only 
that  the  writers  whose  words  they  are,  virtual- 
ly reject  the  inspiration  of  the  scriptures,  (for 
what  is  that  inspiration  worth,  which  admits  of 
''inconclusive  reasoning^'' — "gross  mistakes'^ — 
"lame  accounts''^ — and  deliberate  sacrifices  to 
" popular  prejudices  and  delusions  T^)  but  also 
that  they  stand  ready  to  expunge  from  the  sacred 
volume,  or  to  explain  away,  any  passages  which 
do  not  entirely  accord,  with  their  pre- determined 
opinions.  Thus,  instead  of  bringing  their  opin- 
ONS  TO  THE  Bible,  to  be  tried  and  decided  by 
it,  as  the  only  perfect  standard ;  they  bring  the 
Bible  to  their  opinions,  to  be  judged,  modi- 
fied, and  decided  by  them.  What  is  this,  but 
making  their  own  reason  the  supreme  judge  of 
truth,  instead  of  the  word  of  Him  who  is  the 
source  of  all  reason  ?  What  is  it,  in  effect,  but 
every  man's  making  his  own  notions  (for  these 
are  the  dictates  of  his  reason)  his  highest  rule  of 
faith  ?  And  wherein  does  this  essenjtially  differ 
from  the  doctrine  of  the  Deist,  who  acknowl- 


LETTER  VI.  207 

edges  that  there  is  much  truth  in  the  Bible,  but 
denies  its  inspiration,  and  receives  only  so  much 
of  its  contents  as  accords  with  his  views  of  what 
is  reasonable  ? 

But  the  following  extracts  speak  a  still  more 
daring  language,  and  must,  I  think,  banish  all 
doubt  from  the  minds  of  those  who  have  hereto- 
fore entertained  any,  respecting  the  deep  and 
thorough  corruption  of  Unitarian  principles, 
in  regard  to  the  scriptures. 

Dr.  Priest leif,  in  his  History  of  Early  Opin- 
ions^ with  a  degree  of  frankness  which  always 
distinguished  him,  declares,  that  even  ^^if  the 
^^  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  had  been  found  in 
•^THE  SCRIPTURES,  it  would  havc  been  impossi- 
"  ble  for  any  reasonable  man  to  believe  it,  as  it 
'^  implies  a  contradiction^  which  no  miracles  can 
^^  prove.''*  The  same  writer,  commenting  on 
John  VI.  62,  TVhat,  and  if  you  shall  see  the  Son 
of  man  ascend  up  where  he  was  before  ?  and 
endeavouring  to  shew  that  it  affords  no  evidence 
of  Christ's  existence  before  he  appeared  in  this 
world,  uses  the  following  wonderful  language — 

*  Vol.  I.  p.  48. 


208  LETTER  VI. 

''  Tliough  not  satisfied  with  any  interpretation 
^*  that  has  been  given  of  this  extraordinary  pas- 
''  sage ;  yet  rather  than  believe  our  Saviour  to 
''  have  existed  in  any  other  state,  before  the  cre- 
''  ation  of  the  world,  or  to  have  left  some  state 
"  of  great  dignity  and  happiness  when  he  came 
''  hither,  I  would  have  recourse  to  the  old  and 
"  exploded  Socinian  idea  of  Christ's  actual  as- 
^'  cent  into  heaven,  or  of  his  imagining  that  he 
"  had  been  carried  up  thither,  in  a  vision,  which, 
''  like  that  of  Paul^  he  had  not  bp:en  able  to 
"  distinguish  from  a  reality.  Nay,  I  would 
^^not  build  an  article  of  faith  of  such  magnitude 
^^on  THE   correctness  of  Johin's   recollec- 

^*TION,   AND     representation    OF    OUU    LORD^S 

^^ language;  and  so  strange  and  incredible 
"  does  the  hypothesis  of  a  pre-existent  state 
"  appear,  that,  sooner  than  admit  it,  I  would 
"  SUPPOSE  the  whole  verse  to  be  an  inter- 
^^polation;  or  that  the  old  Apostle  dicta- 
''  ted  one  thing,  and  his  amanuensis  wrote 
"another.'^*  Nor  is  language  of  this  kind 
confined  to  Dr.  Priestley.  He  only  copied  it 
from  his  equally  daring  predecessors.  Faustus 
Socinusy  treating  of  the   doctrine  of  Atonement, 

*  Lttte\-s  to  Bf.  Price,  p.  57,  58. 


LETTER  VI.  209 

speaks  in  the  following  bold  and  unequivocal 
manner:  ^^For  my  part,  though  the  doctrine 
^^  WERE  stated^  not  once  merely,  but  often, 

^'  IN  THE  SACRED  RECORDS,  I  WOuld  UOt,  OU  that 

^^  account,  believe  it/'^  Speaking  of  the 
doctrine  of  the  incarnation  of  Carist,  Smalcius, 
another  distinguished  foreign  Unitarian,  with 
equal  explicitness,  declares — "  Although  it 
^'^WERE  AFFIRMED  in  ScHpturc,  not  once  and 
^  again,  but  very  frequently,  and  most  ex- 
"  pressly,  that  God  became  man,  we  think  it 
*^  much  better,  on  account  of  the  great  absurdi- 
''  ty  of  that  doctrine,  and  its  evident  cOntradic- 
^'  tion  to  sound  reason,  and  its  blasphemy  against 
^^God,  to  imagine  a  certain  mode  of  speak- 
"  ING,  by  which  such  things  may  be  said  con- 
"  cerning  God,  than  to  understand  the  words  ia 
>Uheir  simple  and  literal  meaning.^'f 

It  seems,  then,  that  if  there  had  been,  not 
merely  one,  or  a  small  number,  but  many  hun- 
dreds of  passages,  in  which  the  doctrines  of  the 
Trinity,  and  of  the  Divinity  and  Atonement  of 
Jesus  Christ,  were  taught  in  the  most  precise 
and  unequivocal  manner  that  could  be  conceiv- 

*  Socjsi  Opera,  torn.  II.  p.  204.     f  Homl  VIIL  ad  cap.  I.  Jehan. 

D2 


210  LETTER  VI. 

ed  ;  If  all  the  powers  of  language  and  of  logick 
had  been  laid  under  contribution  to  express 
these  doctrines  in  the  way  least  of  all  liable  to 
doubt  or  misconstruction  ;  if  we  had  been  told 
often,  that  "  there  are  three  Persons  in  the  God- 
^Hiead,  the  Father,  the  Son,  and  the  Holy 
^'  Ghost,  and  that  these  three  are  one,  the  same 
''  in  substance,  equal  in  power  and  glory  \^  that 
Jesus  Christ  is  very  God,  and  very  man  in  the 
same  mysterious  Person ;  and  that  He  died  as 
the  substitute  of  his  people^  to  make  atonement 
for  their  sins,  and  to  bring  in  a  vicarious  right- 
eousness for  their  justification  before  God  , — if 
we  had  been  told  all  this  ever  so  often,  and 
ever  so  expressly,  still  it  would  have  been  all  in 
vain,  as  to  the  establishment  of  these  doctrines 
as  true.  It  is  pre-determined  that  theycais:- 
NOT  POSSIBLY  BE  TRUE.  Of  course  it  would  be 
IMPOSSIBLE  to  reveal  them  with  such  clearness 
of  light,  or  ejxplicitness  of  language,  as  to  com- 
mand belief. 

Accordingly,  the  manner  in  which  Unitarians 
have  actually  treated,  and  interpreted  the  scrip* 
tures,  is  a  comment  on  the  principles ^which  they 
have  avowed,  as  instructive  as  it  is  shocking. 


LETTER  VL  211 

A  few  specimens  of  this  manner  will  be  given^ 
as  proof  that  they  do  not  shrink  from  the  appli- 
cation  of  their  own  principles ;  and  will  abun- 
dantly suOice  to  show  of  what  Unitarianism  is 
capable.  They  are  taken  from  the  publications 
of  some  of  the  most  respectable  leaders  of  that 
sect  in  modern  times  ;  men  most  of  whom  Amer- 
ican Unitarians  continually  quote^  and  recom- 
mend in  the  most  respectful  terms. 

The  narrative  in  Genesis,  respecting  Abra^- 
ham^s  offering  up  his  son  Isaac,  is  thus  explain- 
ed by  Eichhorrij  a  Unitarian  of  Germany.  "Abra- 
"ham  DREAMED  that  he  must  offer  up  Isaac,  and, 
"  according  to  the  superstition  of  the  times, 
'^  regarded  it  as  a  divine  admonition.  He  pre- 
•^  pared  to  execute  the  command,  which  hisr 
"  dream  had  conveyed  to  him.  A  lucky  acci- 
^•DENT  (probably  the  rustling  of  a  ram  entan- 
^^gled  in  the  bushes)  hindered  it;  and  this  ac- 
^^  CORDING  TO  ancient  IDIOM,  was  also  the 
'^  voice  of  the  Divinity.^'* 

The  same  writer  gives  it  as  his  opinion,  that 
Moses'  account  of  tlie  creation  and  fall  of  ma% 

*  See  Professor  Stfart's  learned  and  able  Letters^  p.  144. 


^2  LETTER  VI. 

is  merely  a  poetical,  philosophical  specu- 
lation of  some  ingenious  person,  on  the  origin 
of  the  world,  and  of  evil.  So  that,  whenever 
he  meets  with  any  circumstance  in  the  narrative, 
not  to  be  accounted  for  on  natural  principles,  he 
removes  all  difficulty  by  ascribing  it  to  poet- 
ick  fiction. 

In  Colossiafis  I.  16,  &c.  we  find  these  words— 
For  by  Him  (i.  e.  by  Christ)  were  all  things  cre- 
ated^ that  are  in  heaven  and  that  are  in  earth, 
visible  and  invisible,  whether  they  be  thrones,  or 
dominions,  or  principalities,  or  powers,  all  things 
were  created  by  Him,  and  for  Him,  and  He  is 
he/ore  all  things,  and  by  Him  all  thuigs  consist. 
Mr.  Belsham,  after  a  number  of  remarks  inten- 
ded to  show,  that  creation,  in  this  passage,  has 
a  very  different  meaning  from  that  which  we  are 
accustomed  to  attach  to  the  term,  and  that  all 
things  here  spoken  of,  mean,  not  material  or 
physical  objects,  but  moral  dispensations ;  he 
goes  on  to  assert  that  the  language  of  this  pas- 
sage is  as  applicable  to  a  certain  European  mon* 
arch,  then  in  his  glory,  as  to  Jesus  Christ.  The 
following  are  his  words.  "  Of  a  certain  person 
^^  who  now^  makes  a  very  considerable  figure  iii 


LETTER  VL  2ia 

<^  the  world^  it  may  be  said  with  truth^  so  far  as 
''  the  civil  state  of  the  continent  of  Europe  is 
^'  concerned,  that  he  is  the  creator  of  all  these 
"  new  distinctions,  high  and  low,  whether 
*^  thrones,  or  dominions,  or  principalities,  or 
^'  powers ;  all  these  things  are  made  by  him, 
"  and  for  him,  and  he  is  before  them  all ;  takes 
"  precedence,  both  in  time  and  dignity,  and  by 
^^  him  do  all  these  things  consist.  Yet  who 
^^  would  infer  from  such  language  as  this,  that 
''  the  present  ruler  of  France  is  a  being  of  supe- 
^'  ripur  order  to  mankind,  much  less  that  he  is 
^'  the  maker  of   the   world  ?    The   language 

^^  WHICH  IS  TRUE  OF  BuONAPARTE,  IN  A  CIVIL 
^^VIEW,  IS   APPLICABLE    TO    JeSUS  ChRIST    IN  A 

^'  MORAL  viBW ;  but  it  no  more  implies  pre-ex- 
^'  istence  or  proper  creative  power,  in  one  case, 
^^than  in  the  other.''^  The  view  given  of  the 
same  passage  in  the  authorized  Unitarian  Ver- 
sion of  the  New  Testament,  is  little,  if  any  better. 
''  The  creation  which  the  Apostle  here  ascribes 
^'  to  Christ,  expresses  that  great  change  which 
"  was  introduced  into  the  moral  world^  and  par- 
"  ticularly  into  the  relative  situation  of  Jexvs  and 
''  Gentilesj   by  the  dispensation  of  the    Gospel, 

*  Letters  on  Onanism,  p.  129.  &c. 


214  LETTER  VL 

^^  This  gfeat  change  the  Apostle  here  describes 
^^  under  tlie  symbol  of  a  revolution  introduced 
^^  by  Christ  among  certain  ranks  and  orders  of 
"beings^  by  whom,  according  to  the  Jewish 

*^  DEMONOLOGY,    BORROWED    FROM     THE    OhIEN- 

^^TAL  PHILOSOPHY,  the  affairs  of  states  and  in- 
•^^  dividuals  were  superintended  and  governed.'^* 

Another  Unitarian  writer,  of  no  small  repu- 
tation, in  commenting  on  I  Cor.  III.  11.  Other 
Joimdation  can  no  man  lay  than  that  is  laid^ 
which  is  Jesus  Christ;  tells  us  that  by  Jesns 
Christ  here  is  meant  the  doctrine  of  the 
Gospel  ;  that  the  most  important  part  of  the 
Gospel  is  the  preceptive  part;  and  that,  there- 
fore, the  meaning  of  the  text  is,  that  obedi- 

E>iCE  to  the  precepts  OF  THE  GoSPEL  IS  THE 
ONLY  SURE  FOUNDATION  OF  HOPE  FOR  ETERNAL 
LIFE.f 

Mr.  Bekham,  in  his  Calm  Inquiry j  p.  178, 
referring  to  our  Saviour's  declaration,  Matt, 
XVIII.  20,  For  rohere  tivo  or  three  are  gathered 
together   in  my   name^  there  am  I  in  the,  jnidst 

of  them^  informs  us  that  we  are  to  understanjl 

9'  ■■ 

*  Improved  Version-  Lindset*s  -Sequel,  p.  477'. 
.     %  Dr.  Harwo^d  on  1  Cor.  III.  11. 


LETTER  VI.  215 

our  Lord  as  saying,  "  Such  requests,  dictated 
♦^  by  my  authority,  and  prompted  by  the  spirit 
^'  which  I  will  communicate,  will    be  as  effica- 

^^cioUS  AS  IF  I  MYSELF   WERE   PERSO.VALLY 

^^  PRESENT.'^  The  same  writer,  (p.  179)  re- 
marking on  Matt,  IX.  4.  and  Mark  II.  8,  says 
— "  By  these  expressions,  perhaps  the  histori- 
**  ans,  Matthe-iv  and  Mark^  might  mean  nothing 
"more  than  that  he  judgkd  fkOxM  their  coun- 
"tenaxces  what  was  PASSiiSG  in  their 
^'  heartsP 

Dr.  Priestley^  commenting  on  Ephesians  I.  10, 
says — "To  the  phrase,  things  in  heaven^  and 
"  things  on  earthy  it  is  possible  that  the  Apos- 

"tle    MIGHT    NOT    ANNEX  ANY  DEFINITE   IDEAS, 

"  intending  only  to  express  how  very  great  and 
"  comprehensive,  the  scheme  of  the  Gospel  was, 
"  Or  he  might  allude  to  that  saying  of  our  Sa- 
''  viour,  all  power  is  given  unto  me  in  heaven 
"  and  on  earth  ;  by  which  we  are  to  understand 
"  that  all  things,  even  divine  interpositions,  if 
^^  necessary,  will  be  sueservient  to  the 
••  spread  of  the  Gospel.^'^' 

*  ^^otcs  on  all  the  Jiools  of  Scripture, 


216  LETTER  VI. 

The  passage  in  Ephesians  III.  9.  TFho  crea- 
ted all  things  by  Jesus  Christ,  is  thus  explained 
by  the  same  writer.  "  The  Apostle  alludes  to 
"the  NEW  CREATION,  or  the  renovation  of 
"  MEN,  or  of  the  world,  by  the  Gospel,  and 
"  not  the  creation  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth ; 
"  Si  notion  which  I  am  confident  would  never 
"  have  come  into  the  minds  of  any  christians^ 
^^who  had  not  previously  learned  something 
"  like  it  in  the  principles  of  Platonism.  In  the 
"  idea  of  the  Apostles,  the  promulgation  of  the 
"  Gospel  made  a  new  and  great  sera  in  the  his- 
'^  tory  of  the  world,  from  which  things  took,  as 
"it  were,  a  new  commencement;  and  this  he 
"  figuratively  calls  a  new  creation,  the  great 
^^  agent  in  which  was  Jesus  Christ.'^ 

In  commenting  on  Ephesians,  V.  2,  where  the 
Apostle  says,  Christ  also  hath  loved  us,  and  hath 
given  himself  for  us  an  offering  and  a  sacrifice  to 
God;  the  same  distinguished  Unitarian  thus 
explains  the  passage — "  Here  Christ  is  repre- 
"  sented  in  his  death  as  a  sacrifice  ;  but  it    is 

"only  BY  WAY  of  FIGURE;    aS  ANY    MAN   DYING 
"in  a    good  cause,    may  BE  SAID  TO  BE  A    SA- 

"  ORIFICE  TO  IT.     But  did  not  Peter  and  Paid 


LETTER  VI.  ^17 

suffer,  and  finally  lay  down  their  lives,  in  the 
same  cause  ?  Yet  are  they,  any  where  in  scrip- 
ture, represented  as  a  sacrifice  for  the  sins  of 
men  ?  Or  are  we  ever  said  to  be  saved  by  that 
sacrifice^  or  by  the  shedding  of  their  blood? 
Truly  such  unhallowed  trifling  with  the  Sa- 
viour's character,  and  with  the  language  of  the 
Holy  Spirit,  fills  me  with  horror ! 

In  I  Peter  I.  12,  it  is  written,  JVJuch  things 
the  angels  desire  to  look  into.  This  passage 
Unitarians  must  explain  in  accordance  with 
their  opinion,  that  there  are  no  such  spiritual 
beings  as  Angels  at  all.  In  the  Improved  Uni- 
tarian Version,  therefore,  the  following  comment 
upon  it  is  found — •'  Perhaps  the  meaning  of  the 
^'  Apostle  may  be,  that  the  messengers,  (min- 
*'  isters)  who  are  now  employed  to  promulgate 
^^this  glorious  doctrine,  cannot  fully  comprehend 
*^its  import,  and  are  desirous  of  improving  their 
^'  acquaintance  with  it.'' 

In  the  same  Version,  we  find  the  following 
comment  on  I  Peter  III-  18.  For  Christ  also 
hath  once  suffered  for  si?is,  the  Just  for  the  uii' 
just^  that  he  might   bring  us  to  God.     Christ 

E2 


218  LETTER  VI. 

suffered  for  sin,  not  by  bearing  the  ^^  punishment 
^^due  to   sin,   but  to  introduce  and  ratify  a 

^^DISPENSATION,  BY  WHICH  THE  IDOLATROUS 
^^  HEATHEN  WOULD  BB  ADMITTED  INTO  COVE- 
"NANT  WITH  GOD.'^ 

In  II  Peter  II.  4,  these  words  occur — For  if 
God  spared  not  the  Angels  that  sinned^  but  cast 
them  down  to  hell,  Wc.  How  is  this  passage  to 
be  disposed  of,  in  consistency  with  the  Unitari- 
an doctrine,  that  there  is  no  devil,  and  no  good 
or  bad  angels  ?  With  perfect  ease,  as  follows — 
If  God  spared  rwt  the  Angels  that  sinned,  &c. 
"  Or  if  God  spared  not  the  messengers  who  had 
^^  sinned,  i.  e.  the  spies  who  were  sent  to 
"  explore  the  land  of  Canaan,  &c/^  But 
''  if  the  common  interpretation  be  admitted,  it 
^^  will  not  establish  the  popular  doctrine  concer- 
^^  ning  f^illen  Angels  ;  fori.  The  Epistle  it- 
^'  SELF  is  of  doubtful  AUTHORITY.  2.  From 
^^the  change  of  style,  this  is  the  most 
'^  doubtful  portion  of  the  Epistle.  3.  By 
^'  those  who  admit  the  genuineness  of  the  Epis- 
^^tle,  this  chapter  is  supposed  to  have  been  a 
^^  quotation  from  some  ancient  jvpocryphal 
/^book;    a^  the  Apostle  might  not  mean  to 


LETTER  VI.  219 

^.- GIVE    AUTHORITY    TO     TrfE     DOCTRINE,    but    tO 

"  argue  with  his  readers  upon  known  and  allow- 
'■'  ed  principles — &c."* 

The  explicit  declaration  of  the  Apostle,  II 
Peter  III.  12,  13,  is  thus  unceremoniously  con- 
tradicted in  the  Improved  Unitarian  Version, 
^^This,  in  a  literal    sense,  is    impossible,  be- 

'^CHUSe  THE   HEAVENS   ARK   INCOMBUSTIBLE. 

^^Nor  is  it  reasonable  to  believe  that  an  event 

^^SO    LITTLE    COUNTENANCED  BY    NATURAL    AP- 

"  p::arances,  as  that  of  the  destruction  of  the 
^^  earth  by  a  general  conflagration,  is  the  subject 
"  of  a  divine  prediction.  It  is  well  known,  that 
"  in  the  language  of  prophecy,  great  political 
'' chcmge^  and  revolutions  are  foretold  under  the 
^^  symbol  of  terrible  convulsions  in  the  natural 
"  world — The  heavens  and  the  earth  xvhich  are 
"  noiUj  V.  7,  must  necessarily  signify  the  Jew- 
^'  ish  dispensation,  or  the  then  moral  state  of  the 
"  world,  which  must  pass  away  to  make  room 
"  for  the  promulgation  of  the  christian  religion. 
"  But  this  revolution  cannot  take  place  without 
^^  producing  great  changes  and  convulsions  in 
"  the  political  world;  which;  in  prophetick  lan- 

♦  Improved  Version. 


220  LETTER  VI, 

^*  gaage,  is  expressed  by  the  heavens  being  on 
^'  fire,  the  elements  melting,  and  the  earthy  with 
^'  the  works  on  it,  being  burned  iip.'^ 

Once  more  ;  the  first  two  chapters  of  the  Gos- 
pel according  to  St.  Matthew^  and  the  first  two 
of  the  Gospel  hy  ^i,  Luke,  are  so  explicit  in 
asserting  the  miraculous  conception  of  Christ, 
that  they  have  always  been  considered  by  sober 
Christians  as  perfectly  decisive  against  the  Uni- 
tarian system.  Unitarians,  perceiving  this,  have 
generally  agreed  to  expunge    the   whole  of 

THESE  CHAPTERS  FROM  BOTH  THE  EVANGELISTS, 

except  a  few  verses,  which  they  suppose  may  be 
reconciled  with  their  scheme.  On  what  plea,  do 
you  suppose  tliey  take  this  liberty  with  the  sacred 
text  ?  Not  because  the  chapters  in  question  are 
wanting  in  any  of  the  manuscript  copies  of  the 
original;  for  they  are  confessedly  found  in  all 
of  them.  Not  because  they  are  wanting  in  any 
of  the  early  and  most  respectable  versions  ;  for 
Unitarians  do  not  deny  that  in  all  these  also 
they  are  found.  Not  because  they  find  the  least 
authority  from  any  early  writer,  for  believing 
that  those  chapters  made  no  part  of^^the  origi- 
nal Gospels./   But  they  alledge,  that  the  Ebion- 


LETTER  VI.  221 

ites  and  Marcion,  (who,  as  you  have  seen  in  the 
last  Letter,  were  hereticks  of  the  second  centu- 
ry) excluded  those  chapters  from  the  Gospel  as 
used  by  them  :  and,  therefore,  as  their  successors 
in  heresy^  they  think  proper  to  expunge  the 
same  chapters  now.  But  how  shall  we  account 
for  it  that  modern  Unitarians,  while  they  follow 
the  Ebionites  and  Marcion,  in  their  rejection  of 
these  passages  from  Matthew  and  Luke,  do  not 
go  further,  and  imitate  them  in  their  still  more 
serious  mutilation  of  the  sacred  Oracles?  The 
Ebionites  rejected  the  three  entire  Gospels  of 
Markj  Luke  and  John,  and  all  the  Epistles  of 
Paul:  and  Marcion  refused  to  receive  as  canoni- 
cal any  part  of  the  Old  Testament,  or  indeed 
any  part  of  the  JVexv,  which  contained  quotations 
from  the  Old.  The  only  Gospel  he  received  was 
that  of  Luke,  and  even  from  that  he  expunged 

WHATEVER    HE    DID    NOT    APPROVE.^       If    thcSC 

ancient  hereticks  are  to  be  followed  as  authority 
at  all,  why  not  fully?  Is  it  that  publick  opinion 
would  not  allow,  at  present,  of  such  bold  and 
deep  mutilation  as  they  ventured  upon  ;  but  that 
it  was  thought  necessary  to  get  rid,  at  least,  of 
the  troublesome  passages  in  question,  at  all 
hazards  ? 

*  Waedlaw's  DiscourseSf  p.  179,  181. 


22%  LETTER  VI. 

I  have  now  endeavoured  faithfully  to  lay  be* 
fore  you,  both  text  and  comment  on  this  subject : 
both  the  avowed  Unitarian  doctrine  respecting 
the  interpretation  of  the  scriptures,  and  a  fair 
exemplification  of  their  doctrine,  as  drawn  from 
their  own  expositors.  I  appeal  to  you,  my 
Christian  Friends,  whether  you  can  conceive  of 
departures  from  every  principle  of  fair  construc- 
tion more  manifest  and  unwarrantable ;  of  per- 
versions more  outrageous  ;  and  of  invasions  of 
the  sacred  text  more  bold,  violent,  and  impious  ? 
If  this  mode  of  treating  the  Holy  Scriptures  be 
admissible,  then  I  should  say,  there  is  an  end  of 
all  confidence  in  the  Bible,  as  a  rule  of  faith : 
any  thing  may  be  proved  from  it,  that  a  disor- 
dered imagination,  or  a  depraved  heart  may 
happen  to  fancy.  It  would  be  as  reasonable  to 
appeal  to  revelation  in  arguing  with  a  Deist,  as 
in  arguing  with  a  Unitarian  of  this  stamp. 
Nay,  on  this  plan,  the  scriptures^  instead  of 
being  a  light  to  the  feet^  and  a  lamp  to  the  pathy 
of  the  humble  inquirer,  are  rather  fitted  to  be- 
wilder, to  darken  counsel,  and  to  lead  astray. 

The  Orthodox  do  not,  indeed,  deny  that  the 
scriptures  contain  much   figurative    language  ,5 


LETTER  TI.  223 

nay^  that  they  abound  in  figure ;  that  they  em- 
ploy very  many  expressions  and  representa- 
tionsj  in  condescension  to  human  weakness ;  and 
many  alhisions,  which  can  only  be  understood  by 
comparing  scripture  with  scripture,  and  all  with 
the  other  works  of  God.  Still  they  maintain,  that 
the  Bible*is  to  be  interpreted  upon  the  same  gene- 
ral principles  with  other  books ;  that  is,  that  the 
plain,  simple,  obv  ious  sense,  is  to  be  adopted,  un- 
less the  undoubted  connection,  or  the  still  plainer 
and  more  unquestionable  sense  of  other  passa- 
ges, forbids  it.  Thus  when  the  Saviour  says  of 
himself — /  am  the  Door;  when  the  Apostle 
says  of  Him,  that  He  is  a  tried  corner  Stone ; 
and  when  it  is  said  of  our  first  parents,  in  the 
event  of  their  falling  from  their  primitive  recti- 
tude, ye  shall  be  as  Goch,  knoxving  good  and 
evil;  and  in  another  place,  of  mere  men,  /  have 
said  ye  are  gods;  every  one  understands  the 
expressions,  in  all  these  cases,  to  be  figurative, 
and  not  to  be  construed  literally.  In  like  man- 
laer,  when  the  inspired  writers  speak  of  the 
light  hand  of  God,  and  of  his  rising  from  his 
seat,  and  coming  forth  out  of  his  place,  to  mani- 
fest his  power,  no  one  supposes  that  Jehovah  has 
bodily  members;  or  that  He  is  limited  to  any 


224  LETTER  VI. 

place  ;  but  the  language  is  universally  under- 
stood to  be  analogous  to  that  which  we  all  use, 
when  we  speak  of  the  aiin^  or  the  frown^  of  civil 
government ;  by  which  every  one  perceives  to 
be  meant,  the  exertion  of  the  authority,  or  the 
expression  of  the  disapprobation,  of  the  indi- 
vidual or  individuals  who  execute  a  nation's 
will. 

So  far,  and  to  a  similar  extent  in  all  analogous 
cases,  the  most  sober  Orthodox  criticks  go,  in 
the  interpretation  of  scripture.  Such  use  of 
figurative  language  belongs  to  all  ages  and  coun- 
tries ;  and  is  just  as  well  understood,  as  when 
we  speak  of  a  tide  of  success,  or  a  gust  of  pas- 
sion, or  the  opening  of  a  door  of  usefulness. 
Neither  have  the  Orthodox  any  objection  to 
that  sober  criticism  of  the  sacred  text,  which 
leads  to  attempts  at  new  and  more  exact  trans- 
lation, and  to  illustrations  drawn  from  a  compar- 
ison of  manuscripts,  and  from  the  best  ancient 
versions.  All  this  they  consider  as  perfectly 
fair,  and  as  warranted,  no  less  by  the  reverence 
which  is  due  to  Gods'  word,  than  by  the  prin- 
ciples which  are  applied  to  the  interpretation  of 
all  ancient  books.     But  these  legitimate  rules  of 


LETTER  Vt.  22d 

interpretation,  established  at  once  by  good  sense, 
and  by  general  practice,  by  no  means,  as  yon 
have  seen,  content  Unitarian  expositors.  Every 
usage  of  language  must  be  abandoned ;  every 
rule  of  grammar  must  be  violated ;  the  plain 
and  universally  received  meaning  of  terms  must 
be  set  aside ;  and  passages,  which  in  their  sim- 
ple and  obvious  sense,  appear  natural,  and  in- 
telligible to  the  humblest  capacity,  must  be  for- 
ced, and  perverted,  in  a  manner  which  reverses 
all  just  principles  of  construction,  and  draws 
from  the  whole  a  meaning  so  remote,  so  cold,  so 
vapid,  and  so  far  beneath  what  the  L  iiguage 
would  seem  naturally  to  import,  that  a  serious 
inquirer  is  equally  astonished  and  mortified  at 
the  result.  How  would  this  mode  of  interpreta- 
tion be  viewed,  with  respect  to  any  other  book  ? 
Would  it  not  be  deemed  unfair  and  presump- 
tuous in  the  highest  degree?  How  much  more 
exceptionable,  then,  when  applied  to  that  book 
which  professes  to  be  dictated  by  the  Spirit  of 
God,  and  which  treats  of  subjects  which,  of  all 
ethers,  are  most  beyond  the  reach  of  our  minds ! 

If  the  Bible  contains  a  revelation  from  God 
^  the  mass  of  mankind,  and  is  expressly  intend- 
F2 


226  LETTER  VI. 

Bd  ta  teach  them  the  way  of  duty  and  happi- 
tiess^  we  must  suppose  it  adapted  to  the  purpose 
for  which  it  was  given :  that  is,  we  must  sup- 
pose it  to  be  a  plain  book,  suited  to  the  common 
people,  as  well  as  to  the  learned  and  wise.    The 
Gospel  was  originally  preached  to  the  poor  ;  and 
is  fitted  no  less  to  nourish  babes  in  Christy  than 
to  support  and  invigorate  strong  men.     The  Bi- 
ble, it  is  true,  has  depths  which  are  beyond  the 
ken  of  angels ;  and  portions  of  its  contents  by 
no   means   unfrequently   occur,  which    require 
much   various  knowledge  to  enable    any  one  to 
peruse  them  with  intelligence  and  satisfaction. 
While  there  is  more  than  enough  in  the  scrip- 
tures, as  there  is  in  the  great  Author  of  them, 
to  fill  the  most  enlarged   intellect,  and  to  give 
scope  and  exercise  to  the  most  profound  erudi- 
tion ;  yet  it  is  equally  certain,  that  the  great 
body  of  those  truths  which  relate  to  our  com- 
mon  salvation^  which  hold  forth  to  us  redemption 
through  the  blood  of  Christy  even  the  forgiveness 
of  sins,  according  to  the  riches  of  his  grace,  and 
which  enforce  the  various  duties  of  the  christian 
life,  are  plain,  and  level  to  the  most  common 
capacity,    disposed    humbly   to   receive    them. 
They  are,  indeed;  so  plain,  that  we  are  assured^. 


LETTER  VL  2S7 

he  who  runs  may  read  them  ;  and  even  the  way- 
Jhring  man^  though  a  fool^  shall  not  err  therein^ 
Such  is  the  representation  every  where  given 
on  this  subject,  in  the  sacred  volume  itself. 
Nothiog  more  is  necessary,  as  we  are  assured, 
to  enable  a  simple,  unlettered  man  to  read  the 
word  of  God  with  int<^lligence  and  profit,  thau 
common  sense,  accompanied  with  an  humble  and 
teachable  disposition.  But  if  the  Unitarian  no- 
tions be  correct,  then  the  Bible  is  a  sealed  book  : 
a  book  of  all  others  least  fitted  for  the  common 
people ;  and  rather  calculated  to  mislead  than  to 
instruct ;  until  some  Unitarian  expositor  comes 
to  open  the  seals ;  and,  by  means  of  his  various 
readings,  his  conjectural  emendations,  and  his 
complicated  criticism,  to  dispel  the  darkness 
which  must  otherwise  rest  upon  it.  Is  this 
credible  ?  I  must  candidly  declare,  that  if  I  be- 
lieved it,  I  should  be  strongly  inclined  to  concur 
with  the  Papists  in  withholding  the  scriptures 
from  the  laity,  as  unfit  to  be  trusted  in  the  hands 
of  any  but  the  initiated.  Can  such  a  view  of 
the  subject  be  tolerated  by  those  who  believe 
that  all  scripture  is  given  by  the  inspiration  of 
God^  and  is  profitable ;  that  holy  men  of  Gocf 
spake  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost ; 


'228  LETTER  VI. 

and  that  not  many  wise  men  after  the  fiesh,  not 
many  mighty^  not  many  noble  are  called;  but 
that  God  hath  chosen  the  weak  things  of  the 
world  to  confound  the  things  which  are  mighty^ 
and  foolish  things  to  confound  the  wise,  and 
things  which  are  despised^  hath  God  chosen^ 
yea  and  things  which  are  not^  to  bring  to  naught 
things  that  are,  that  no  Jiesh  should  glory  in  his 
presence  ? 

Let  me  entreat  you  here,  my  Christian  Breth" 
ren,  to  look  back,  for  a  moment,  to  the  beginning 
of  my  fourth  Letter,  and  then  say,  whether  the 
passages  of  scripture,  setting  forth  the  Sa- 
viour's glory,  and  the  work  of  redemption  by 
him,  there  quoted,  can  possibly  be  considered, 
upon  any  established  principles  of  interpreting 
metaphorical  language,  as  importing  any  thing 
less  than  his  Divinity  and  Atonement  ?  I  appeal 
to  your  candour,  whether,  if  we  construe  those 
passages  as  Unitarians  tell  us  we  ought,  there 
is  a  single  fact  or  doctrine  recorded  in  the  Bible, 
which  we  can  venture,  with  confidence,  to  inter- 
pret, as  containing  literal  truth  ?  Shall  we  not 
be  constrained  to  admit,  that  the  Resurrection 
©f  the  body/  is  to  be  considered;  not  as  a  literal^ 


LETTER  VI.  229 

but  as  a  metaphorical  event?  Where  shall  we 
draw  the  line,  on  any  subject^  between  reality^ 
and  mere  figure  of  speech  ? 

Accordingly,  while  we  notice  the  characteris- 
tick  tendency  of  Unitarians  to  apply  to  the  Bi- 
ble the  most  forced  and  unnatural  principles  of 
interpretation,  it  is  curious  to  observe  what  por- 
tions of  scripture  they  are,  to  which  these  prin- 
ciples are  most  frequently  and  elaborately  appli- 
ed. They  are  precisely  those  portions  which 
are  most  hostile  to  the  Unitarian  system.  When 
the  advocates  of  that  system  meet  with  passa- 
ges which  appear  strongly  to  teach  the  Trinity 
of  Persons  in  Jehovah ;  the  Deity  and  Atone- 
ment of  the  Redeemer,  and  other  allied  doc- 
trines ;  then  it  is  that  the  mightiest  efforts  of 
their  wonder-working  management  are  put  in 
requisition ;  then  it  is  that  the  plainest  terms 
lose  their  ordinary  and  direct  meaning,  and  are 
made  to  speak  something  essentially  different,  if 
not  opposite.  Other  parts  of  scripture  are  com- 
monly left  to  speak  their  native,  simple  lan- 
guage ;  but  these  never.  Has  not  this  a  most 
suspicious  aspect  ?  when  persons  are  ready  to 
interpret  like  other  people  those  passages  which 


230  LETTER  VI. 

do  not  implicate  their  peculiar  creed ;  but  imme? 
diately  adopt  the  most  singular  and  unwarranta- 
ble principles  of  exposition,  when  those  which 
do  implicate  them,  are  in  question ;  can  charity 
herself  forbear  to  indulge  suspicions  of  the  most 
unpleasant  kind  ? 

Further ;  in  marking  the  distinctive  characters 
©f  the  Orthodox  and  the  Unitarians,  as  to  their 
manner  of  studying  the  scriptures,  I  have  also 
thought  that  I  could,  every  where,  perceive  this 
difference  : — With  the  Orthodox,  the  explaining 
and  applying  the  word  of  God,  is  chiefly  an  af- 
FAIR  OF  THE  HKART.  They  coutcud,  indeed,  as 
much  as  any  professing  christians,  for  the  exer- 
cise of  the  understanding  in  the  interpretation 
of  scripture,  and  in  every  department  of  reli- 
gion :  and  it  is  presumed  that  they  go  as  far  as 
any  in  giving  proofs  of  this  exercise.  But  still 
in  the  study  of  the  scriptures,  unless  I  am  de- 
ceived, they  are  distinguished,  above  all  others, 
by  a  spirit  of  affectionate  devotion.  The  views 
which  they  take  of  Gospel  truth,  are  peculiarly 
suited  to  humble,  to  soften,  to  interest  the  feel- 
ings in  the  highest  degree,  to  engage  and  ele- 
vate the  afjectioas,  and  to  inspire  jot/  and  peaop 


LETTER  VI.  231 

in  believing.  Accordingly,  when  the  Orthodox, 
who  are  pious,  read  the  Bible  with  a  practical 
view,  they,  for  the  most  part,  wish  to  have  the 
spirit  of  criticism  dormant,  and  to  lay  open 
their  minds  to  those  heart- affecting,  self- abasing, 
and  purifying  impressions,  which  are,  at  once, 
more  delightful  and  more  profitable  than  any 
other.  When  they  read,  that  the  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ  cleanseth  from  all  sin  ;  that  He  hare 
our  sins  iji  his  own  body  on  the  tree ;  that  He 
is  the  propitiation  for  our  sins ;  and  that  He 
gave  himself  for  us,  that  He  might  redeem  us 
from  all  iniquity — they  delight  to  yield  them- 
selves  to  all  the  constraining  influence  of  re- 
deeming love,  and  te  dwell  with  the  liveliest 
wonder,  gratitude,  and  joy,  on  the  unparal- 
leled scenes  of  the  Garden  and  the  Cross* 
They  never  enjoy  themselves  so  well,  in  the  pe- 
rusal of  the  scriptures,  as  when,  gazing  on  the 
unutterable  wonders  of  the  incarnation  and  suf- 
ferings of  the  Son  of  God,  the  love  of  his  Per- 
son becomes  their  ruling  passion,  and  conformity 
to  his  example  and  will,  the  precious  model  of 
their  lives. 


23^  LETTER  Vl. 

But  how  different  the  spirit  with  which  Uni- 
tarians approach  and  peruse  the  scriptures! 
With  them  the  study  of  the  sacred  volume  ap- 
pears to  he  chiefly  a  cold  intellectual  exer- 
cise. They  take  it  up  very  much  as  they 
would  take  up  a  Latin  or  Greek  classick ;  con- 
sidering it,  indeed,  as  treating  of  far  more  im- 
portant subjects  ;  but  as  proper  to  be  examined 
with  the  same  spirit  of  free,  bold,  and  even  scept- 
ical scrutiny ;  as  proper  to  be  suspected,  and 
questioned  at  every  turn.  Accordingly,  they 
never  seem  to  be  so  much  at  home  in  the  Bible^ 
as  when  estimating  the  comparative  value  of 
ancient  manuscripts ;  discovering  and  expung- 
ing passages  alleged  to  be  spurious  ;  and  set- 
tling the  niceties  of  verbal  criticism.  Their 
peculiar  element  seems  to  consist  in  persuading 
themselves  and  others  not  to  believe  too 
MUCH ;  and  in  endeavouring  to  shew  that  the 
scriptures  speak  a  language  less  serious,  less 
affecting,  and  less  solemn,  than  the  Orthodox 
imagine.  In  short,  their  object  seems  to  be  at' 
tained,  exactly  in  proportion  to  the  degree  in 
which  they  can  divest  the  word  of  God  of  those 
truths  and  characteristicks  which  are  peculiarly 
fitted  to  warm,  to  elevate,  and  to  enrapture  the 


LETTER  VL  233 

heart ;  in  which  they  can  reduce  its  contents  to 
little  more  than  a  system  of  cold^  heartless  eth- 
icks.  With  them,  the  amazing  scenes  of  Geth- 
semane  and  Calvary^  are  brought  down  to  a 
level  with  the  events  of  common  history ;  and 
all  those  immeasurable  glories  and  benefits  of 
the  Saviour,  which  are  adapted  to  fix  the  heart, 
and  to  move  the  profoundest  affections  of  the 
christian,  are  either  wholly  denied,  or,  with  a 
frigid  ingenuity,  explained  away. 

Which  of  these  systems,  then,  my  Friends, 
ought  the  serious  christian  to  countenance  ? — 
Tiiat  which  honours  the  Bible,  as  the  inspired 
word  of  God;  or  that  which  virtually  denies 
its  inspiration,  and  places  it  on  a  level  with 
mere  human  compositions  ? — That  which  bows 
to  it,  as  the  infallible  rule  of  faith  and  practice, 
to  which  nothing  can  be  added,  and  from  which 
nothing  can  be  taken ;  or  that  which  establishes 
a  higher  tribunal  than  the  scriptures,  and  main- 
tains the  lawfulness  of  adding  to  them,  and  ex- 
punging from  them,  at  pleasure  ? — That  which 
interprets  the  word  of  God  in  a  simple,  natural, 
analogical  manner ;  or  that  which  applies  to  it 
principles  of  exposition  often  the  most  forced 
G2 


234  LETTER  Vt. 

and  unnatural  that  can  be  conceived ;  principles 
which  would  be  rejected  with  indignation  if  ap- 
plied to  any  other  book  ? — In    fine,  that  which, 
recognizes  in  the   sacred   volume  all  those  fea- 
tures of  grandeur  and  glory,  which  are  adapted 
to  fill  and  warm  the  heart ;  or  that  which  would 
divest  it  of  all  those   features,  and  hold  up  the 
inspired  writers   as  continually  using  the  most 
bold  and  high-sounding  language^  to  express  the 
most  diminutive  and  common  ideas  ? — Which  of 
these   systems,  I  say,  ought  the  serious  christian 
to   countenance? — It  is  impossible  to   hesitate. 
The  former  is  the    humble,  filial   spirit  of  chil- 
dren sitting  at  the  feet  of  the  Saviour  and  learn- 
ing of  Him,  as  the  great   and  all  wise    Prophet 
of  his  church  ;  the  latter,  is  the  genuine  spirit 
OF  INFIDELITY,  to  wliich,  uudcr  all  its  disguises^ 
the  christian   ought  to   say,  with   his  Master — 
Get  thee  behind  me^   Satan  ;  for  thou  savourest 
not  the  things  that  be  of  God^  but  the  things  that 
be  of  mm* 


LETTER  Vir. 


Tndh  to  be  tried  &f  its  practical  infimnce — Objections  iQ. 
Un'darianism  on  this  ground — Umturianism  disposed  to 
deny  or  conceal  its  principle^ — Tndifferent  to  Tnitlh-^ 
Hostile  to  the  exerci.ses  of  Vital  Piety — Deficient  m 
^fielding  support  and  consolation  in  Death — Unfriendly 
to  the  svirit  of  Mission^ — Every  where  more  agreeable- 
to  Lijideh^  than  any  other  system  which  bears  the 
Christian  name. 

Christian  Brethren, 

The  principle,  that  truth  must  be  tried  by  its 
MORAL  Influence,  is  as  old  as  truth  itself.  By 
their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them^  is  a  maxim  of 
our  Lord,  which  common  sense,  and  every  part 
of  scripture,  conspire  to  enforce.  This  is  a  test 
to  which  we  ought  to  be  willing  to  bring  all  oup 
own  opinions  ;  and  by  which  every  wise  maa 
will  be  careful  to  try  the  spirits^  whether  they 
are  of  God, 


236  LETTER  VII. 

Whether  Unitarianism  can,  advantageously, 
stand  this  test,  is  a  question  which  I  desire  in 
this  Letter  candidly  to  examine.  The  consider- 
ations urged  in  the  foregoing  Letters  against  the 
Unitarian  system,  are,  to  my  mind,  perfectly 
conclusive.  That  system  which  finds  no  coun- 
tenance in  the  word  of  God ;  which  has  been 
opposed  by  the  pious  in  all  ages;  and  the  advo- 
cates of  w^hich  have  always  been  cast  of  the 
Church,  and  denied  the  name  of  Christian,  sure- 
ly has  little  claim  to  our  respect  or  confidence. 
But  I  have  some  further  objections  to  this  sys- 
tem, which  press  upon  my  mind  with  irresistible 
force,  and  which  compel  me  to  believe  that  it  is 
"  not  of  God.''  These  are  objections  drawn 
from  the  practical  iufliienee  of  Unitarianism,  in  a 
great  variety  of  respects.  This  branch  of  the 
controversy  between  the  Orthodox  and  Unitari- 
ans, has  been  treated,  as  many  of  you  know,  in 
a  very  able  and  satisfactory  manner,  by  the 
E.ev.  Mr.  Fuller^  in  a  work  to  which  I  before 
referred,  and  which  I  would  again  recommend 
to  your  careful  perusal.  The  points,  however, 
to  which  I  wish,  at  present,  to  call  your  atten- 
tion, are  such  as  that  eminent  Servant  of  Christ, 
has  either  wholly  omitted  to  notice,  or  has  treat- 
ed in  a  very  cursory  manner. 


LETTER  Vn.  237 

I.  The  first  of  the  Objections  which  I  propose 
to  consider,  is  that  Unitarians  manifest,  more  re- 
markably than  any  other  sect  with  which  I  am 
acquainted,  A  disposition  to  deny  or  con- 
ceal THEIR  RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS. 

The  sacred  Scriptures  solemnly  enjoin  upon 
us,  not  only  to  search  diligently  after  the  truth  ; 
but  also,  having  discovered  it,  to  hold  it  fast ;  to 
be  ever  ready  to  profess  our  belief  of  it,  and  eve?^ 
ready ^  also,  to  give  an  ansxver  to  every  one  that 
asketh  a  reason  of  the  hope  that  is  in  tis.  Nor 
can  I  conceive  how  the  command^  to  confess 
Christ  before  men^  or  the  duty  of  not  shunning  to 
declare  all  the  counsel  of  God^  can  be  duly  re- 
garded, especially  by  ministers  of  the  Gospel, 
without  a  frank  and  habitual  readiness  to  make 
known  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  to  all  who  ask 
to  be  instructed,  or  are  willing  to  receive  it. 
And  I  presume  it  will  not  be  denied,  that  the 
Orthodox,  in  general,  have  not  only  manifested 
a  disposition  to  attach  much  importance  to  doc- 
trinal opinions  ;  but  also  no  less  of  a  disposition 
to  embrace  every  suitable  opportunity  to  com- 
municate and  preach  them. 


^^  LETTER  VII. 

But,  unless  I  am  greatly  deceived,  the  saine. 
cannot,  with  truth  he  said  of  Unitarians.  On 
the  contrary,  I  am  persuaded,  that,  in  all  ages, 
since  the  first  appearance  of  Unitarianism  in  the 
church  of  Christ,  a  disposition  to  practise  the 
arts  of  concealment,  denial,  and  evasion,  when- 
ever there  was  any  considerable  temptation  to  do 
so,  has  been  one  of  its  most  remarkable  charac- 
teristicks. 

More  than  sixteen  hundred  years  ago,  Iren- 
Kits  made  this  complaint  concerning  certain  Uni- 
tarians of  his  day.  "  In  publick,'^  says  he, 
^^  they  use  alluring  discourses,  because  of 
^'  the  common  christians,  as  they  call  those  who 
^'  wear  the  christian  name  in  general ;  and  to 
^^  entice  them  to  come  often,  they  pretend  to 
^^  PREACH  LIKE  US  ;  and  complain,  that,  although 

^^  THEIR    DOCTRINE    BE    THE     SAME  AS  OURS,    WC 

^^  abstain  from  their  communion,  and  call  them 
^'  hereticks.  When  they  have  seduced  any  from 
"  the  faith  by  their  disputes,  and  made  them 
^^  willing  to  comply  with  theni;  they  begin  to 
"open  their  mystebies.^^^ 


*  Lib:  m.  cop.  15. 
/ 


XETTER  VII.  239 

In  the  case  of  Paul  of  Scunosata^  a  distin- 
guished Unitarian  of  the  next  century,  a  similar 
spirit  was  manifested.  You  were  told,  in  a  for- 
mer Letter,  that  when  charged  with  holdiiig^ 
certain  opinions  which  he  had  preached,  he  sol- 
emnly denied  the  charge  ;  nay,  denied  it  on 
OATH.  Yet,  in  a  little  while,  he  preached  the 
same  doctrines  again,  and  was  again  charged, 
and  again  found  to  deny  and  equivocate ;  un- 
til, at  length,  the  most  decisive  measures  became 
necessary  to  expose  his  true  character,  and  to 
exclude  him  from  the  sacred  of&ce. 

When  Arhis^  the  father  of  the  Arians,  arose, 
and  began  to  propagate  his  opinions,  he  acted  a 
similar  part.  Finding  that  these  opinions  g:;ve 
offence,  and  were  about  to  become  matter  of  pub- 
lick  scrutiny,  he  professed  a  willingness  to  re- 
ceive the  popular  language  concerning  them, 
and  wished  to  have  it  believed  that  he  differed 
but  little  from  the  body  of  the  church.  Much 
time  and  ingenuity  were  employed  by  the  Coun- 
cil which  tried  him,  in  attempting  to  drag  him 
from  his  lurking  places,  and  to  extort  from  him 
an  explanation  of  his  views.  Nor  was  their 
purpose  accomplished  at  last  without  extreme 


240  LETTER  VII. 

difficulty.  Afterwards,  indeed,  when  his  fol- 
lowers, for  a  time,  got  the  civil  power  into  their 
own  hands,  they  were  ready  enough  to  avow 
their  principles,  and  to  persecute  the  Orthodox, 
with  far  greater  fury  than  ever  they  had  been 
persecuted  themselves. 

It  is  worthy  of  notice,  too,  that  the  same  gen- 
eral system  of  evasion  and  concealment,  was 
adopted  by  both  Lxlmsj  and  Faustus  Socinus,  in 
the  sixteenth  century.  The  former  joined  an 
Orthodox  church,  and  remained  in  its  commu- 
nion while  he  lived,  passing  himself  off  as  an 
Orthodox  man,  with  the  greater  part  of  those 
with  whom  he  conversed.  Nor  do  his  senti- 
ments appear  to  have  been  fully  disclosed  but  by 
his  private  papers  after  his  decease.  The  lati 
ter,  even  after  he  had  adopted  his  Uncle's 
opinions,  and  ventured,  in  a  degree,  to  profess 
them,  practised  the  most  unworthy  acts,  if  the 
best  historians  are  to  be  believed,  to  conceal  or 
to  varnish  over  the  most  offensive  features  of  his 
system,  and  to  induce  the  belief  that  he  differed 
much  less  from  the  Orthodox  church  than  he 
really  did.  # 


LFTTER  VII.  241 

Nor  has  it  been  otherwise  in  later  times.  Dr. 
Priestley  declared,  a  few  years  ago,  that  there 
were  great  numbers  of  persons  in  the  church 
of  England^  even  among  the  clergy^  who,  while 
they  privately  held  Unitarian  opinions,  did  not 
scruple  in  publick  to  countenance  "  2l  mode  of 
^'  worship,  which,  if  they  were  questioned  about 
^^it,  they  would  not  deny  to  be,  according  to 
^^  their  own  principles,  idolatrous  and  blasphe- 
''mousP^  \i  Newton  and  Locke  were  Unita- 
rians, they  acted,  as  I  have  hinted  in  a  former 
Letter,  the  same  unworthy  part.  And,  if  I  have 
not  been  misinformed,  there  is  too  muvh  i tason 
to  believe  that  there  are  a  few  persons  of  a  sim- 
ilar character,  at  this  time,  in  the  established 
church  of  Scotland, 

The  history  of  American  Unitarianism  most 
remarkably  accords  with  these  striking  facts. 
The  course  of  conduct  pursued  by  the  Unita- 
rian clergy  in  Massachusetts j  for  a  number  of 
years,  was  perfectly  in  character  for  disciples  of 
the  distinguished  hereticks  already  mentioned. 
Strong  suspicions  that  they  were  friendly,  if  not 
devoted,  to  the  Unitarian  System,  were  enter- 
tained for  a  considerable  time,  before  direct 
H  2 


242  LETTER  VIL 

proof  of  the  fact  could  be  fastened  upon  them. 
Charges  to  that  amount  were  frequently  made  ; 
but  by  most  of  them  repelled,  as  unkind,  and 
even  slanderous.  They  appeared  anxious  to 
have  it  believed  that  they  did  not  differ  ma- 
terially from  the  Orthodox  around  them.  And 
it  was  not  until  a  publication,  made  by  one  of 
thfeir  own  friends,  beyond  the  Atlantick,  and  re- 
published and  circulated  in  this  country,  had 
grievously  offended  them,  but  effectually  dis- 
closed their  views,  that  any  considerable  number 
of  them  consented  to  take  the  name  of  Unita- 
rians. And  even  now,  if  I  mistake  not,  while 
they  own  the  general  name,  they  are,  most  of 
them,  extremely  reserved  in  communicating 
their  opinions  in  detail ;  insomuch  that,  not  only 
the  publick  at  large,  but  some  of  their  own  peo-, 
pie,  are  entirely  uncertain  what  they  believe 
eoncerning  some  of  the  fundamental  doctrines  of 
Christianity. 

May  I  not  venture  to  say,  too,  that  some  of 
the  Unitarians  in  your  own  neighbourhood,  are^ 
in  some  degree,  chargeable  with  the  same  con- 
duct ?  You  have  worshipping  assem^ies  of  al- 
most every  denomination  of  christians  in  your 


I.ETTER  VIL  243 

City.  Respecting  the  religious  sentiments  of 
the  pastors  and  teachers  of  these  different  de- 
nominations, no  one  is  at  a  loss.  They  have 
not  only  each  publickly  and  solemnly  subscribed 
a  particular  creed ;  but  you  can  hardly  go  into 
their  respective  places  of  worship,  v/ithout  hear- 
ing their  peculiar  tenets  openly  and  freely  pro- 
claimed. But  how  is  it  with  your  Unitarian 
neighbours  ?  Have  they  ever  told  any  one, 
fairly  and  fully,  what  they  believe  ?  I  have  at- 
tended to  their  publications,  from  time  to  time; 
when  they  happened  to  fall  in  my  way,  but  have 
never  been  able  to  discover.  I  have  perceived, 
indeed,*  that  there  are  many  truths,  in  my  view 
all -important,  which  they  do  not  bdieve.  I 
have  perceived,  too,  that  they  are  very  zealous 
in  NOT  BELIEVING,  and  are  taking  unwearied 
pains  to  persuade  others  to  follow  their  exam- 
ple. But  which  of  the  various  Unitarian  sys- 
tems, differing  so  widely  from  each  other,  tiiey 
DO  embrace,  I  have  no  recollection  of  having 
ever  seen  or  heard  any  thing  that  enabled  me 
to  decide.  They  speak  of  one  writer,  of  that 
class,  as  having  gone  too  far,  and  of  another,  as 
having  expressed  himself  erroneously ;  yet,  af- 
ter all,  they  do  not  inform  us  whom  they  are 


244:  LETTER  VII. 

willing  to  regard  as  a  model,  or  what  scheme 
they  actually  adopt.  Why  all  this  reserve? 
Even  if  they  consider  the  Orthodox  around 
them,  as  I  suppose  they  do,  as  a  crooked  and 
perverse  generation^  still,  themselves  being  judg- 
es, ought  they  to  be  ashamed  of  Christ  and  of 
his  words  before  them? 

Nay,  I  have  not  only  observed  a  striking  re- 
sei've  among  Unitarians,  as  to  the  disclosure  of 
their  sentiments,  which  I  was  never  able  to  re- 
concile with  correct  principles  ;  but  I  have  also 
observed,  among  many  of  them,  another  prac- 
tice, still  more  evidently,  as  it  appears  to  me, 
unfair  and  criminal.  I  refer  to  the  practice 
complained  of  by  Dr.  Wardlaw^  in  his  able  re- 
ply to  Mr.  Yate^^  and  often  noticed  by  others, 
as  indulged  by  Unitarian  polemicks.  When  they 
feel  pressed  by  a  text  or  an  argument  which 
bears  hard  on  the  Socinian  hypothesis,  they 
take  refuge  in  Arianism,  and  endeavour  to 
maintain  that  the  difficulty  vanishes,  on  the  plan 
of  the  pre-existence  and  superangelick  nature  of 
Christ,  as  held  by  Arians.  On  the  contrary, 
when  pressed  by  a  passage  of  scripture,  or  a 
consideration^  which  wears  an  aspect  unfavoura- 


LETTER  Vir.  245 

ble  to  Arianism,  they  can,  with  equal  dexterity^ 
avail  themselves  of  the  Socinian  doctrine,  and 
argue  with  the  lowest  Humanitarian.  Is  this 
change  of  armour  and  of  colours,  characteristick 
of  the  christian  soldier,  or  of  a  warrior  of  a  dif- 
ferent stamp  ?  Is  it  characteristick  of  the  king- 
dom of  light,  or  the  kingdom  of  darkness  ? 

I  am  far,  indeed,  from  alledging  that  all 
Unitarians  have  been  chargeable  with  pursuing 
this  disingenuous  conduct.  In  many  cases, 
they  have  been  under  no  temptation  to  con- 
ceal or  equivocate ;  but  every  inducement  was 
the  other  way.  Such  is  now,  probably,  and  has 
been  for  some  time,  the  state  of  things  in  Ger- 
many, And  even  in  situations  in  which  the 
greatest  odium  was  to  be  incurred  in  avowing 
Unitarian  opinions,  some  truly  honourable  ex- 
amples of  candour  and  firmness  have  been  ex- 
hibited. But  my  position  is,  and  I  believe  most 
sincerely  that  it  may  be  maintained — that,  in 
all  ages,  from  the  time  of  Ebion  to  the  present 
hour,  where  the  mass  of  the  surrounding  popu- 
lation was  Orthodox,  Unitarians  have  manifested 
a  disposition  to  conceal  their  sentiments,  to 
equivocate;  to  evadc;  and  even  solemnly  to  deny 


246  LETTER  VTI. 

them,  when  questioned,  and  to  disguise  them- 
selves under  the  garb  of  Orthodoxy,  to  a  degree 
which  no  other  sect  calling  itself  Christian  ever 
manifested. 

To  what,  I  ask,  is  this  fact  to  be  ascribed  ?  I 
leave  it  with  You,  my  Christian  Brethren,  to 
solve  the  question.  I  will  only  say,  that  I  can 
think  of  no  possible  reason  for  it,  but  such  as 
must  stamp  the  character  of  deep  corruption 
upon  the  Unitarian  cause. 

II.  Another  strong  Objection  to  the  Unitarian 
system,  in  my  mind,   is,  the  tendency   which 

IT  EVERY  WHERE  MANIFESTS  TO  PRODUCE  IN- 
DIFFERENCE TO  Truth.  This  objection  is  close- 
ly connected  with  the  preceding ;  but  it  der 
serves  more  distinct  consideration. 

The  vital  importance  of  truth,  and  the  duty 
of  loving,  seeking  and  maintaining  it,  are  laid 
down  in  scripture  with  a  degree  of  plainness 
and  force,  truly  impressive.  Great  stress  is  laid 
on  7'eceiving  the  truth  ifi  the  love  of  it ;  on  being 
established  in  the  truth;  on  walking  in  the  truth  ; 
on  being  sqnctijied  through  the  truth ;    and  pn 


LETTER  VIL  247 

contending  earnestlij  for  the  faith  once  delivered 
to  the  saints.  We  are  solemnly  warned  against 
believing  every  spirit ;  we  are  commanded  to  try 
the  spirits  whether  they  are  of  God ;  to  prove  all 
things^  and  hold  fast  that  which  is  good.  And 
with  the  language  of  the  Bible^  the  spirit  of  the 
pious  has^  in  all  ages^  most  strikingly  agreed. 
This  appeared  eminently  in  the  primitive 
churchj  in  which  truth  seems  to  have  been 
prized  and  defended  with  peculiar  affection ; 
and  all  who  opposed  any  of  its  essential  por- 
tions, as  you  have  seen  in  a  former  Letter,  to 
have  been  excluded  from  the  body  of  believers^ 
as  unw^orthy  of  the  Christian  name.  The  same 
thing  is  observable  in  the  history  of  all  the  Wit- 
nesses for  the  truth,  from  the  rise  of  the  Papa- 
cy till  the  Reformation.  That  which  distin- 
guished them,  was  their  earnestly  contending 
for  the  essential  articles  of  the  christian  faith^ 
and  separating  themselves  from  all  hereticks. 
For  the  same  great  truths,  all  the  Reformers 
contended,  both  in  their  writings  and  preachings 
and  some  of  them  laid  down  their  lives.  And 
perhaps  there  is  no  point  concerning  which  the 
Orthodox  of  the  present  day,  differ  more  re- 
markably from  Unitarians,    than   in  maintain- 


248  LETTER  VII. 

ing  the  great  importance  of  certain  doctrines^ 
and  contending  for  them  as  fundamental.  This 
is  not  denied  by  Unitarians  themselves  ;  but  is, 
on  the  contrary,  continually  brought  forward  by 
them,  as  matter  of  reproach  against  the  Ortho- 
dox. With  the  charge,  as  such,  I  have  nothing 
to  do  at  present.  My  sole  concern  is  with  the 
acknowledged  fact,  as  a  fact  that  has  been  most 
remarkably  connected  with  Orthodoxy  in  all 
ages.  And  I  maintain  that  it  is  natural,  reason- 
able, scriptural,  and  just  such  a  fact  as  might  be 
expected  to  result  from  the  conviction,  that  there 
is  an  essential  and  eternal  difference  between 
truth  and  error,  and  that  they  can  never  coa- 
lesce. 

Now  my  objection  to  Unitarianism  is,  that  it 
is  generally  found  connected  with  a  spirit  di- 
rectly the  reverse  of  this  ;  with  a  marked  indif- 
ference to  truth ;  not  only  with  a  singular  unwil- 
lingness to  say  much  about  the  articles  of  its  own 
creed  in  detail ;  but  also  with  quite  as  singular 
a  disposition  to  underrate  the  importance  of  any 
truth,  and  to  be  on  friendly  terms  with  the 
advocates  of  all  creeds^  ex.ce;^t  the  Or- 
thodox. , 


LETTER  Vir.  249 

To  believe  in  the  innocence  of  error,  and 
even  of- fundamental  error,  is  what  I  call  indif- 
ference TO  TRUTH.  And  if  this  be  not  one  of 
the  most  striking  features  of  Unitarianism,  at 
any  rate,  of  the  Unitarianism  which  is  most 
prevalent  in  our  country,  I  am  egregiously  de- 
ceived. What  would  be  admitted  as  proof  of 
such  a  belief,  before  any  enlightened  and  impar- 
tial tribunal?  If  persons  calling  themselves  Uni- 
tarians differ  essentially  from  each  other,  with- 
out any  bar  to  constant  religious  intercourse  :  if 
some  of  them  consider  Christ  as  possessing  a 
real,  though  derived  Divinity  ;  others  as  the 
most  exalted  of  all  creatures;  and  a  third  class, 
as  a  mere  man  :  if  some  of  them  think  he  ought 
to  be  worshipped,  and  others  that  all  worship 
directed  to  him  is  gross  idolatry :  if  some  of 
them  believe  that  Christ  really  made,  in  some 
sense,  atonement  for  sin,  and  that  this  atonement 
is  the  foundation  of  all  christian  hope ;  while 
others  regard  the  doctrine  of  atonement,  in  any 
sense,  as  a  mere  corruption  of  Christianity, 
which  deserves  nothing  better  than  ridicule,  or 
abhorrence  :  if  these  men,  notwithstanding  all 
these  diversities  of  opinion,  still  call  each  other 
brethren  of  the  same  denomination ;  worship 
12 


250  LETTER  Vll. 

and  commune  together  without  diflUculty ;  mutu- 
ally  praise  and  recommend  each  other's  books 
and  preaching :  more  especially^  if  all  these  dif- 
ferent parties  profess  to  be  ready  to  worship 
and  hold  communion  with  the  Orthodox,  while 
they,  at  the  same  time,  acknowledge  that  they 
cannot  help  considering  them  as  blasphemers 
and  idolaters : — Would  this  be  manifesting  indif- 
ference to  truth,  or  w^ould  it  not?  Surely  the 
answer  is  not  difficult. 

Let  us  see,  then,  what  are  the  facts.  Dr. 
Samuel  Clarke^  was  a  high  Arian,  or  Semi-Ari- 
an.  He  professed  to  believe  in  the  Divinity  of 
Christ,  in  a  derived  and  qualified  sense.  Dr. 
Price  was  an  Arian,  of  the  common  stamp,  who 
taught  that  Christ  was  the  most  exalted  of  all 
creatures.  Socijius  made  a  still  lower  estimate 
of  the  character  of  the  Saviour :  he  supposed 
him  to  have  been  a  mere  man,  but  miraculously 
conceived,  and  taken  up  into  heaven,  to  be  in- 
structed in  the  divine  will ;  and  that,  being  en- 
dowed with  special  authority  and  dignity,  he 
ought  to  be  worshipped.  Dr.  Priestley^  as  you 
have  seen,  went  lower  still.  He  supposed  that 
Christ  was  a  mere  man,  born  like  other  men,  and 


LETTER  VII. 


251 


likp  other  men  fallible  and  peccable.  With  Dr. 
Priestley^  Mr.i^eA/^a;??  substantially  agrees.  Mr. 
Channing,  of  Boston j  is  said  to  be  an  Arian;  yet 
he  says,  that  he  considers  it  as  "  no  crime  to 
believe  with  Mr.  Belsham  ;''  that  is,  to  consider 
Christ  as  a  mere  fallible  and  peccable  man.^  And 
Professor  Stuart,  of  Andover,  tells  us  that,  if  he 
is  correctly  informed,  "  there  are  scarcely  any 
^'  of  the  younger  preachers  of  Unitarian  senti- 
"  ments,  in  Ne-w-England,  who  are  not  simple 
Humanitarians  :"t  in  other  words,  who  do  not 
in  the  main  agree  with  Dr.  PriestUy  and  Mr, 
Belsham,  Yet,  when  you  come  to  hear  Uni- 
tarians of  these  different  classes  speak  of  each 
other,  it  is  in  terms  which  indicate  all  that  de- 
gree of  harmony  which  is  necessary  to  ecclesi- 
astical communion.  They  claim  each  other  as 
brethren.  They  make  a  common  cause  when 
attacked.  They  recommend  each  others  wTit- 
ings  ;  not,  indeed,  always,  with  an  explicit  dec- 
laration that  they  approve  of  everij  thing  in 
them  ;  but  in  a  way  which  an  Orthodox  man 
would  be  shocked  at  doing,  concerning  any 
books   of  which  he  did  not;  in  substance^  ap- 

•  See  his  Letter  to  Mr.  Thacher. 
f  Letters  to  J\lr.  Chanmng.  p,  152. 


252  LETTETl  VII. 

prove.  When  the  lowest  Humanitarian  attempts 
to  make  a  list  of  those  distinguished  men  from 
whose  character  he  hopes  to  derive  countenance, 
he  confidently  quotes  Arians  and  even  Semi- 
Arians  as  on  his  side.  And  when  the  highest 
Semi-Arian  makes  out  a  corresponding  list^  he 
quotes,  without  scruple,  the  most  lax  Priestley- 
an,  or  Belshamite,  as  his  Unitarian  bbother  ! 
Can  men  who  act  thus,  reasonably  complain,  if 
a  discerning  publick  consider  them  as  all 
ALIKE,  and  as  having  no  attachment  whatever 
to  truth  ? 

But,  what  crowns  all,  as  a  specimen  of  Unita- 
rian indifference  to  truth,  is  the  following  decla- 
ration from  Dr.  Price^  who  was  just  mentioned 
as  ranking  with  tlie  Arians.  "  Give  me  but  the 
"  fact,  that  Christ  is  the  resurrection  and  the 
"  l[fe,  and  explain  it  as  you  will.  Give  me  but 
''  this  single  truth,  that  eternal  lifi  is  the  gift  of 
^'  God  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord  and  Sa- 
"  viour,  and  I  shall  be  perfectly  easy  with 
^'  respect  to  tjie  contrary  opinions  which  are  en- 
^^  tertained   about    the   dignity   of    Christ  ; 

"  ABOUT     HIS     NATURE,     PERSON,    ANlD    OFFICES, 

^^  and  the  manner  in  which  he  saves  us.     Call 


LETTER  VII.  253 

^^  him,  if  you  please,  simply  a  man,  endowed 
(^  with  extraordinary  powers ;  or  call  him  a  su- 
^^  PERANGELiCK  BEING,  wlio  appeared  in  hu- 
^^  man  nature  for  the  purpose  of  accomplishing 
"our  salvation;  or  say,  (if  you  can  admit  a 
"  thought  so  shockingly  absurd)  that  it  was  the 
^^  second  of  three  co-equal  persons  in  the  God- 
^^  head,  forming  one  person  with  a  human  soul^ 
"  that  came  down  from  heaven,  and  suffered 
"  and  died  on  tlie  cross : — Say,  that  he  saves  us 
^^  merely  by  being  a  messenger  from  God  to 
^'  reveal  to  us  eternal  life,  and  to  confer  it  upon 
"  us  ;  or  say^  on  the  contrary,  that  he  not  only 
^^  reveals  to  us  eternal  life,  and  confers  it  upon 
^*  us,  but  has  obtained  it  for  us,  by  offering  him- 
^^  self  a  propitiatory  sacrifice  on  the  cross,  and 
^'  making  satisfaction  to  the  justice  of  the  Deity 
"  for  our  Sins :  I  shall  think  such  differ- 
^^  E\CES  OF  LITTLE  MOMENT,  provided  the  fact 
"  is  allowed,  that  Christ  did  rise  from  the  dead, 
^^  and  w^ill  raise  us  from  the  dead,  and  that  all 
"  righteous  penitents  will,  tiirough  God's  grace 
"  in  him,  be  accepted  and  made  happy  forev- 
ii  er.'^ — In  the  opinion  of  this  distinguished  Uni- 
tarian, then,  it  is  a  question  of  very  little  mo- 
ment,— not  worth  contending  about; — whether 


2154  LETTER  VIL 

Christ  be  a  Divine  Person,  or  a  mere  man ; 
whether  the  worship  of  Christ,  be  a  christian 
duty,  or  gross  idolatry  ;  whether  his  atonement 
be  the  grand  foundation  of  hope,  or  a  corrupt 
human  invention.  In  his  opinion,  all  who  call 
themselves  Christians,  may  worship  and  com- 
mune together  with  perfect  concord  and  affec- 
tion, although  they  may  regard  each  other,  at 
the  time,  as  blasphemers,  polytheists,  and  idola- 
ters !  If  this  be  not  indifference  to  truth,  I  know 
not  what  deserves  the  name.  If  this  be  the 
counsel  of  Unitarians,  I  must  say,  O  my  soul, 
come  not  thou  into  their  secret ;  unto  their  assem- 
bly y  mi?ie  honour^  be  not  thou  united! 

Dr.  Priestley,  with  his  usual  frankness,  con- 
fesses that  many  Unitarians  have  this  character- 
istick  indifference  to  truth,  and  attempts  to  ac- 
count for  it.  And,  whatever  may  be  thought  of 
the  private  opinions  of  this  eminent  man  ;  yet 
his  testimony,  as  a  witness,  respecting  the  prin- 
ciples and  character  of  Unitarians,  will  surely 
be  considere4  as  unexceptionable.  He  speaks 
thus :  "  Though  Unitarian  dissenters  are  not 
'^  apt  to  entertain  any  doubt  of  the  truth  of  their 
^f  principled,  they  do  not  lay  so  much  stress 


LETTER  Vir.  255 

*•  UPON  THEM,  as  other  christians  do  upon  theirs. 
*^Nor,  indeed,  is  there  any  reason  why   they 
^*  SHOULD,  when  they  do  not  consider  the  hold- 
•^  ing  of  them  to  be  at  all  necessary  to  salvation^ 
''  which  other  christians  often  do  with  respect 
^^.to  theirs.     Besides,  it  cannot  be  denied  that 
"  many  of  those  who  judge  so  truly  concern- 
•^ing  particular  tenets  in  relii^ion,  have  attained 
•*'  to  that  cool,  unbiassed  temper  of  mind,  in  con- 
^'  sequence  of  becoming  more  indifferent  to  re- 
^^ligion  in  general,   and  to  all  the  modes  and 
^^  doctrines  of  it.  Though,  therefore,  they  are  in 
"  a  more  favourable  situation  for  distinguishing 
^^  between  truth    and   falsehood,    they    are   not 
^^  likely  to  acquire  a  zeal  for  what  they  conceive 
"  to  be  truth.''*     The  Author  does  not,  indeed, 
apply  this  representation  to  all  Unitarians,  but 
only  to  a  particular  class  of  them  ;  but  he  un- 
doubtedly,  at    the  same  time,     intimates    that 
persons  of  that  denomination,  generally,  attach 
much   less  importance  to  religious  truth  than 
most  other  professing  christians  ;  and  that  there 
are  solid  reasons  why,  upon  their    principles, 
they  should  do  so.      This  is  sufiicient  for  my 
purpose. 

*  Discourses  on  Varmin  Subjects,  p.  95.  96, 


25&  LETTER  VII. 

III.  Another  most  serious  Objection  which  I 
have  to  the  Unitarian  system,  is,  that  1 1  is  to- 
tally AND  IRRECONCILEABLY  HOSTILE  TO  THK 
EXERCISES  OF  VITAL  AND  EXPERIMENTAL  PIETY. 

I  need  not  inform  You,  my  Brethren,  that  the 
religion  of  Jesus  Christy  as  a  practical  system,  is 
a  religion  of  redeemed,  recovered  sinners ;  and 
that  there  are  certain  feelings  and  views,  which 
the  Orthodox  suppose  invariably  to  mark  the 
return  of  a  convinced  and  repenting  rebel  to  his 
reconciled  God,  and  his  subsequent  life  of  holy 
obedience.  We  do  not  pretend  to  say,  that 
these  feelings  and  views  are  the  same  in  all  ca- 
ses, or  to  lay  down  rules  by  which  they  are  to 
be  formally  regulated,  in  any  case.  But  we  be- 
lieve that  there  are  certain  general  principles^, 
which  are,  in  substance,  realized  in  every  in- 
stance of  genuine  repentance,  and  of  christian 
walk  with  God.  We  suppose,  that,  in  every 
such  instance,  there  is  an  impression  of  the  glo- 
ry of  God,  and  the  purity  of  his  law,  never  ex- 
perienced before  ;  a  deep,  heartfelt  conviction  of 
the  exceeding  evil  and  ill-desert  of  sin;  a  cor- 
dial hatred  of  it ;  a  sincere  mourning  over  it; 
and  a  heayty  turning  from  it  unto  God,  with 


LETTER  VII.  257 

^^fiill  purpose  of,  and  endeavours  after,  new 
obedience ;"  an  affectionate  "  receiving  and 
resting  on  the  Lord  Jesus  alone  for  salvation,  as 
He  is  freely  offered  in  the  Gospel ;''  an  habitilal 
looking  to  Him,  as  the  foundation  of  hope,  and 
the  life  of  the  soul ;  a  constant  disposition  to 
glory  in  his  cross  ;  a  deep  sense  of  obligation  to 
Him  for  justifying  righteousness,  for  sanctifying 
grace,  and  for  daily  strength  ;  a  hearty  renun- 
ciation of  all  confidence  in  the  flesh  ;  unfeigned 
self  abasement  before  God  ;  daily  self  reproach- 
es on  account  of  daily  short  comings,  and  cor- 
ruptions; sincere  endeavours  to  crucify  the  Jiesh 
with  the  affections  and  hists^  and  to  shun  the 
very  appearance  of  evil ;  a  sense  of  dependence^ 
and  a  love  of  dependence,  on  free  and  rich 
grace ;  a  governing  desire  to  glorify  Christ  in 
body  and  spirit  which  are  his  ;  rejoicing  in  hope 
of  his  glory  ;  and  sometimes  rejoicing  with  joy 
unspeakable  and  full  of  glory, — Such  are  the  ex- 
ercises which  the  Orthodox  consider  as  essen- 
tial, in  a  greater  or  less  degree,  to  all  true  re- 
ligion ;  which  they  believe  to  be  found  strongly 
pourtrayed  in  the  Bible,  as  constituting  the  es- 
sence of  christian  character;  and  which  they 
are  persuaded  will  ever  meet  a  response  of  deep 
K2 


258  LETTER  Vll. 

and  delightful  interest  in  the  bosom  of  every  one 
who  loves  the  Lofd  Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity. 

But,  I  ask,  is  Unitarianism  friendly  to  these 
exercises,  as  a  system  of  experimental  piety  ? 
Is  it  consistent  with  them  ?  Is  it  not  directly  hos- 
tile to  them  ?  Nay,  do  not  the  great  body  of 
Unitarians  ridicule  these  exercises  as  fanatical 
and  delusive  ?  In  fact,  are  not  their  views  of  hu- 
man nature,  of  the  Saviour's  character,  and  of 
the  ground  of  hope  toward  God,  utterly  irrecdn- 
cileable  with  such  views  and  feelings  as  have 
been  described,  and  which  hold  so  conspicuous 
a  place  among  the  pious  breathings  of  scripture 
saints?  I  have  never  known  exercises  of  this 
character  treated  by  any  persons  of  the  Unita- 
rian denomination,  otherwise  than  with  frigiil 
indifference,  or  repelling  contempt.  And  I  can, 
with  equal  sincerity-  declare,  that  I  have  never 
known  an  instance  of  a  Unitarian,  who  appeared 
to  be  led  on  through  the  stages  of  seriousness, 
anxiety,  and  deep  conviction  of  sin,  to  a  cordial 
acceptance  of  the  offers  of  salvation  through  a 
Redeemer,  who  did  not,  in  the  course  of  these 
exercises,  solemnly  renounce  the  Unitarian  sys- 
tem, as  one  which  afforded  no  adequate  hope  to 


LETTER  VII.  259 

the  soul,  and  which  would  hy  no  means  stand 
the  test  of  either  scripture  or  experience. 

I  suppose,  indeed,  that  no  Unitarian  living, 
would  think  it  any  compliment  to  have  either 
the  belief  or  the  experience  of  such  exercises  as 
I  have  referred  to  above,  ascribed  to  him.  Dr. 
Priestley  speaks  of  them  in  a  manner  expressive 
of  both  contempt  and  horror,^  Mr.  Bchham 
denounces  every  thing  of  this  kind,  so  frequently 
and  Uiiceremoniously,  that  proof  of  his  opinion 
on  the  subject  is  not  necessary.  Indeed  he  goes 
so  far  as  to  speak  of  ardent  love  to  Christ 
as  an  unreasonable  feeling,  and  as  one 
which  deserves  to  be  considered  as  a  mere  illu- 
sive imagination.  Can  we,  then,  my  Friends, 
with  the  sacred  volume  in  our  hands,  and,  I 
trust  I  may  add,  with  the  personal  experience 
of  many  of  us,  deeply  impressed  upon  our 
hearts  ; — can  we  regard  with  any  other  feelings 
than  those  of  abhorrence,  a  scheme  which  open- 
ly turns  into  ridicule  those  conflicts,  consola- 
tions and  joys,  which  have  been  for  ages  conse- 
crated in  the  experience  of  the  truly  pious,  and 
without  which,  in  some  degree,  we  conscien- 
tiously believe,  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord? 

*  Memoirs  of  himself ^  p.  7. 


260  LETTER  VII. 

IV.  A  fourth  Objection  to  the  Unitarian  sys- 
tem which  deeply  impresses  my  mind,  is,  that 

I   NO  WHERE  FIND    THAT    CLOUD   OF    WITNESSES 
TO  ITS  CONSOLATION    IN  A   DYING    HOUR,    which 

in  all  ages  have  been  furnished  by  the 
Orthodox  system. 

Those  principles  which  are  found  most  effec- 
tually to  support  and  elevate  .the  mind,  in  that 
trying  season,  when  "  heart  and  flesh  fail/'  and 
when  all  the  realities  of  eternity  are  opening  on 
the  soul,  have  certainly  a  strong  presumptive 
claim  to  our  confidence.  In  that  honest  hour, 
when  the  world  is  withdrawing,  when  the  solici- 
tations of  appetite  and  passion  are  silent,  and 
when  the  judgment  seat  is  in  view,  many  a  prin- 
ciple which  once  appeared  firm  and  tenable, 
has  most  ignobly  and  miserably  failed  its  pos- 
sessor, and  left  him  without  a  prop.  It  behoves 
every  one  of  us,  therefore,  in  the  day  of  our 
health,  to  ask  ourselves,  without  partiality,  and 
•without  evasion,  how  far  the  hopes  which  we 
cherish  will  be  likely  to  stand  this  solemn,  thi§ 
inevitable  test* 


LETTER  VII.  261 

Now,  I  can  aver,  witli  unwavering  confidence, 
that  I  have  never  known  the  system  of  the 
Orthodox  to  fail  any  one,  in  that  interesting 
hour  which  tries  the  hopes  of  men.  That  is,  I 
have  never  known  any  one  who  had  cordially 
embraced  the  system  of  redemption  through  the 
blood  of  Christ ;  who  had  built  all  his  confi- 
dence on  the  atoning  sacrifice  and  perfect  right- 
eousness of  a  Divine  Redeemer ;  and  who  had 
long  cherished  the  hope  that  he  should  finally 
receive  eternal  life,  as  the  purchase  of  the  Sa- 
viour's blood,  and  the  gift  of  his  hands : — I 
have  never  known  such  a  man,  when  he  came 
to  die,  fearful  that  this  ground  was  not  firm 
enough  to  support  him,  and  disposed  to  aban- 
don it  for  something  which  promised  to  be  more 
adequate  to  his  wants.  I  have  known  some 
such,  indeed,  fearful  lest  they  might  have  de- 
ceived themselves  as  to  their  own  personal  char- 
acter; lest  they  might  not  have  been  really 
building  on  the  Saviour,  but  on  something  else. 
In  short,  of  the  great  Foundation  of  their  hope 
itself,  they  had  no  apprehension,  but  only 
whether  they  were  resting  upon  it.  But  never 
did  I  see  or  hear  of  a  man  who,  in  those  trying 
circumstances^  began  to  think  that  he  had  made 


262  LETTER  VH. 

too  high  ail  estimate  of  Christ,  or  who  regretted 
that  he  had  relied  upon  Him  so  much,  or  Irdd  so 
much  stress  upon  his  atonement  and  his  right- 
eousness. On  the  contrary,  no  one,  I  will  ven- 
ture to  say,  ever  knew  a  votary  of  Orthodoxy 
who  did  not  meet  death  with  joy  and  triumph, 
just  in  proportion  to  the  degree  in  which  he  was 
assured,  that  he  was  really  and  practically  a 
believer  in  Christ.  And  0,  how  often  have  I 
seen  such  leave  the  world  in  the  most  joyful  and 
triumphant  manner!  How  often  have  I  heard 
them,  with  the  smile  of  assured  hope,  and  some- 
times with  the  rapture  of  anticipated  glory, 
marked  on  their  dying  features,  exclaim — I  am 
not  asliamedy  for  I  know  in  whom  I  have  believ- 
ed^ and  am  persuaded  that  He  is  able  to  keep 
that  which  I  have  committed  to  Him  against  tlmt 
day.  0  death,  where  is  thy  sting  ?  O  grave^ 
where  is  thy  victory  ?  Thanks  be  unto  God,  who 
giveth  me  the  victory  through  my  Lord  Jesus 
Christ !  And  close  the  scene,  by  crying  out, 
with  their  expiring  breath,  Loi^d  Jesus  receive 
my  spirit! 

Can  the  same  be  said  with  trutlv  of  Unitari- 
ans and  th^ir  system?    It,  Biost  assuredly,  can- 


-  LETTER  VII.  263 

not  I  have  known  many,  very  in  any,  who  felt 
confident  and  satisfied  with  that  system  in  the 
days  of  their  liealth ;  but  who,  when  death  ap- 
proached, renounced  it,  as  affording  to  the  soul 
no  foundation  of  hope.  Then,  when  they  took 
a  retrospect  of  all  the  sins  and  short-comings  of 
their  lives,  they  began  to  see  that,  without  a 
better  righteousness  than  their  own,  they  coald 
never  appear  before  a  holy  God  in  peace.  They 
have,  accordingly,  abandoned, — wholly  aban- 
doned, their  old  ground ;  and  felt  constrained  to 
fall  at  the  feet  of  Immanuel,  and  to  exclaim, 
humbled  and  adoring,  with  Thomas^  my  Lord, 
AND  MY  God  !  And,  even  among  those  who  did 
not  thus  renounce  their  old  creed,  but  died  fond- 
ly cleaving  to  it;  the  utmost  that  I  have  ever 
heard  of,  as  manifested  by  them,  on  the  ap- 
proach of  death,  was  a  certain  philosophick  calm- 
ness. This,  it  is  but  justice  to  say,  was  remark- 
ably displayed  in  the  death  of  Dr.  Priestley 
himself.  But  his  calmness,  according  to  his  bi- 
ographer, was  not  only  connected  with  a  belief 
in  the  doctrine  of  Universal  Salvation,  but 
FOUNDED  upon  it.  ''  Hc  desired  me,'^  says  his 
Son  (this  was  a  few  hours  before  he  expired) 
"  He  desired  me  to  reach  him  a  pamphlet  which 


264  LETTER  VII. 

^^  was  at  his  bed's  head,  ^  Simpson  on  the  Dura- 
"  tion  of  future  Punishment/  It  will  be  a  source 
''  of  satisfaction  to  you  to  read  that  pamphlet^ 
"  said  he,  giving  it  to  me.  It  contains  my  sen- 
''  TiMENTS  ;  and  a  belief  in  them  will  be  A  sup- 
''  PORT  TO  YOU,  in  the  most  trpng  circumstan- 

''  Ces,    AS  IT  HAS  BEEN  TO  ME.        We    shall    ALL 

"meet  finally.  We  only  require  different 
"  degrees  of  discipline,  suited  to  our  tempers,  to 
"  prepare  us  for  final  happiness.''*  But  who 
ever  witnessed,  in  a  Unitarian,  such  a  death  as 
that  of  Stephen,  or  such  as  that  which  Paul  des- 
cribes, as  exhibited  by  the  triumphant  believer  ? 
I  believe  it  may  with  confidence  be  asserted, 
that  such  a  sight  was  never  witnessed.  In- 
deed a  great  part  of  the  language  concerning  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  which  the  inspired  writers 
put  into  the  mouths  of  dying  christians,  or  of 
christians  approaching  the  end  of  their  pilgri- 
mage ;  and  which  the  pious,  in  all  ages,  have 
delighted  to  adopt  and  to  utter,  on  the  confines 
of  eternity,  could  not  possibly,  in  my  opinion,  be 
uttered  by  a  Unitarian,  without,  either  assuming 
a  new  vocabulary,  or  entirely  changing  his  prin- 
ciples. *' 

*  Memoirs  off  Dr.  Priestley^  Vol.  I.  217. 


LETTER  VIL  265 

Need  I  say,  my  Friends,  that  this  is  a  consid- 
eration which  ought  deeply  to  impress  the  heart 
of  every  one  who  experts  to  die,  and  who  de- 
sires to  embrace  such  principles,  and  take  such 
ground,  as  will  stand  the  test  of  a  dying  hour  ? 
It  is  far  from  my  wish  to  make  any  unfair  appeal 
to  the  passions  of  men.  I  know  that  the  artful 
and  designing  have  sometimes  made  such  ap- 
peals on  behalf  of  the  grossest  error.  But  is 
not  this  one  of  the  subjects,  on  which  the  hearty 
and  the  feelings  ought  to  be  solemnly  consult- 
ed ?  O  that  I  could  persuade  every  one  who  is 
about  to  decide  between  that  blessed  foundation 
of  hope  which  the  Bible  exhibits,  and  that  which 
Unitarians  recommend,  to  place  before  him  the 
solemnities  of  a  dying  bed ;  the  rupture  of  those 
ties  which  bound  him  to  a  retiring  world;  the 
end  of  all  human  illusions  ;  and  the  approach  of 
a  decisive  reckoning,  and  a  dread  eternity  !  O 
that  they  were  wise^  that  they  understood  thisj 
that  they  would  consider  their  latter  end! 

V.  I  object  to  the  Unitarian  system  as  being, 
in  my  opinion,  decisively  and   necessarily 

UNFRIENDLY  TO  THE  SPlRlT  OF  MISSIONS. 

L  2 


266  LETTER  VII. 

By  the  Spirit  of  Missions,  I  mean  an  enlight- 
ened, ardent,  and  persevering  zeal  for  the 
spread  of  the  Gospel  among  those  who  have  it 
not.  I  think  I  am  not  deceived  when  I  say,  that 
such  a  spirit  has  remarkably  characterized  the 
Orthodox  in  all  ages,  and  just  in  proportion  as 
their  system  was  pure  and  predominant.  Their 
expenditures  and  labours  to  promote  this  great 
object ;  their  holy  courage,  self  denial,  suffer- 
ings, perseverance,  and  occasional  sacrifices  of 
life,  in  the  precious  cause,  are  on  record.  We 
have  seen  them  devoting  their  time,  and  talents, 
and  strength,  and  property,  to  the  preaching  of 
the  Gospel  among  the  poor  and  destitute.  We 
have  seen  them  going  with  the  light  of  life,  to 
dreary  frontier  settlements,  to  benighted  pagans, 
and  to  the  ignorant  and  depressed  children  of 
Africa,  We  have  seen  them  contriving  and  ex- 
erting themselves  to  send  christian  instruction, 
in  almost  every  variety  of  form,  to  the  labourers 
in  mines  and  manufactories ;  to  the  hut  of  the 
beggar ;  to  the  wigwam  of  the  savage  ;  to  the 
cells  of  hospitals  ;  and  to  the  prisoner's  dungeon. 
Nor  is  this  to  be  wondered  at.  It  is  precisely 
what  migl^.t  be  expected  of  those  who  love  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  supremely  ;    who  have  expe- 


LETTER  VII.  267 

i'ienced  in  their  own  souls  the  sweetness  of  his 
gracious  consolations ;  who  firmly  believe  that 
there  is  salvatiofi  in  no  other  ;  and  who  are  deep- 
ly convinced  that  the  situation  of  those  who  are 
strangers  to  the  grace  of  Christ  must  be  deplo- 
rable in  time  and  eternity. 

I  do  not  assert,  indeed,  that  the  Orthodox 
have  been  always  equally  awake  to  the  im- 
portance of  this  object,  or  equally  zealous  in 
pursuing  it ;  far  less  that  they  have  ever  done 
all  that  became  them,  in  this  or  any  other  de- 
partment of  christian  duty.  But  I  do  conscien- 
tiously believe  that  the  whole  of  the  substan- 
tial, faithful  missionary  work  that  has  ever  been 
done  in  our  world,  has  been  done  by  the  Ortho- 
dox, as  distinguished  from  Unitarians  ;  and  that 
the  latter  have  manifested  a  most  marked  and 
characteristick  deficiency  in  the  Missionary 
Spirit.  Have  Unitarians  ever  fitted  out  a  mis- 
sion to  the  heathen  ?  I  have  never  heard  of  it. 
They  have  often  had,  at  different  periods,  in  the 
course  of  their  history,  great  wealth,  talents^ 
and  enterprize,  at  their  command.  But  have 
any  of  these  ever  been,  in  good  earnest,  employ- 
ed in  imparting  a  knowledge  of  Christianity  t© 


268  LETTER  VII. 

the  poor,  the  ignorant,  the  depressed,  and  the 
friendless  ?  They  have,  indeed,  it  must  be  con- 
fessed, in  former  times,  made  great  exertions, 
and  incurred  hirge  expenditures,  for  propagat- 
ing their  opinions ;  and  they  are  still  doing  the 
same.  But  in  what  manner  ?  By  going  out,  as 
other  denominations  have  done,  into  the  highr 
xvays  and  hedges^  and  endeavouring  to  bring  in 
to  the  gospel  feast,  the  maimed,  the  lame^  the 
halt^  and  the  blind  F  Have  they  directed  their 
exertions  to  the  children  of  want  and  sorrow, 
and  made  the  chosen  objects  of  their  evangelical 
labours  those  who  had  no7ie  to  help  them  ?  No  ; 
they  have  always  been  remarkable  for  sending 
their  missionaries  and  their  books,  to  the  most 
polished  and  populous  places;  to  the  upper  clas- 
ses of  society  ;  to  the  rich  and  literary  ;  to  those 
who  already  enjoyed  the  Gospel,  and  stood  in  no 
need  of  their  instruction.  So  it  has  ever  been^ 
with  so  little  exception,  as  not  to  impair,  in  the 
least  degree,  the  force  of  the  general  assertion ; 
and  so  it  continues  to  be  to  the  present  hour. 

And,  indeed,  with  the  prevalent  Unitarian 
helief,  could  it  be  expected  to  be  otherwise  ? 
Surely  thos^  who  believe  that  all  men  will  final- 


LETTER  Vn.  269 

ly  be  saved  ;  and,  of  course,  that  no  particular 
faith  or  religious  system,  is  necessary  to  salva- 
tion ;  those  who  deny  the  original  corruption  of 
human  nature,  and  do  not,  consequently,  consid- 
er the  heathen,  or  any  other  class  of  men,  as  in 
such  deplorable  circumstances  as  the  Orthodox 
believe  them  to  be ;  and  those  who,  systematical- 
ly, discard  the  constraining  influence  of  that  su- 
premelove,and  deep  sense  of  obligation,  to  Christ, 
which  prompt  the  Orthodox  to  exert  themselves 
in  extending  the  kingdom  of  an  atoning  and  re- 
deeming Deliverer ; — those  who  embrace  these 
opinions,  cannot  reasonably  be  expected  to  feel 
that  desire  for  the  spread  of  the  Gospel,  and  the 
conversion  of  souls,  which  the  Orthodox  feel 
themselves  bound  every  hour  to  cherish. 

This  representation  is  confirmed  by  Mr.  Rob- 
inson j  an  English  Unitarian,  of  great  talents, 
and  of  extensive  information.  "  It  is  remarka- 
"  ble,"  says  he,  "  that  Socinianism  has  never 
^'  been  in  fashion  with  the  illiterate ;  for  in  re- 
^*  gard  to  the  Polish  churches,  the  ministers, 
"  and  the  far  greater  part  of  the  members,  were 
"  either  noblemen,  or  eminent  scholars,  or 
'^  both.^^      Again  ;  "  It  is  remarkable  that   So- 


270  LETTER  Vli. 

^'  cinians  seldom  a  ] dress  their  peculiar  senti- 
''  ments  to  the  populace^  but  generally  to  gen- 
''  tlemen  of  eminent  learning  and  abilities. 
^^  Though  this  is  inconsistent  with  that  profes- 
^'  sion  of  the  simplicity  of  revelation,  which  they 
"  so  commonly  treat  of  in  all  their  accounts  of 
^'  the  Gospel,  as  it  was  written  by  the  Evange- 
"  lists  ;  yet  it  is  perfectly  agreeable  to  that 
''philosophical,  scientijick  mode  of  expounding  it, 
''  which  they  have  thought  proper  to  adopt,  and 
^'  v.hich  will  probably  always  put  it  out  of  the 
^'  power  of  man  to  render  Socinianism  popu- 
ci  lar.'^^ 

Are  these  facts  ?  Then  there  is  assuredly 
something  f.dse  and  rotten  in  the  system  to 
which  they  belong.  That  mode  of  interpreting 
and  exhibiting  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ 
which  cannot  be  adapted  to  the  capacities  of  the 
poor,  the  ignorant,  and,  in  general,  to  the  low- 
est classes  of  society ;  that  system,  calling  itself 
Christianity,  whi  h  is  ever  found  to  flourish 
most  among  the  rich,  the  splendid,  and  the  lux- 
urious ;  and  to  languish  when  attempted  to  be 
propagated  in  the  humbler  walks  gf  life:    that 

*  Hcclesiasiifal  Researches,  p.  604,  605,  623. 


LETTER  \  II.  271 

system  whicli^  indeed,  none  but  the  ranks  in 
some  degree  literary,  can  understand  or  relish  : 
that  system,  in  fine,  which  takes  away  almost 
THE  WHOLE  of  the  MOTIVES  wliich  the  Orthodox 
feel  for  endeavouring  to  send  the  glad  tidings  of 
salvation  to  the  ends  of  the  earth — cannot,  I  will 
venture  to  say,  be  the  system  which  is  found 
in  the  Gospel  of  the  grace  of  God.  It  cannot  be 
the  system  which  our  blessed  Lord  described, 
when,  in  the  synagogue  at  Nazareth^  He  appli- 
ed these  words  of  the  Prophet  to  himself — The 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  is  upon  me,  because  He  has 
anointed  me  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the  poor ; 
He  hath  sent  me  to  heal  the  broken  hearted,  to 
preach  deliverance  to  the  captives,  and  recover- 
ing of  sight  to  the  blind,  to  set  at  liberty  them 
that  are  bruised :  or,  when,  in  answer  to  the  in- 
quiry of  John^s  disciples,  who  He  was.  He  said 
—  Go,  and  shew  John  again  those  things  which 
ye  do  hear  and  see  :  the  blind  receive  their  sight, 
and  the  lame  walk  ;  the  lepers  are  cleansed,  and 
the  deaf  hear  ;  the  dead  are  raised  up,  and  the 
poor  have  the  gospel  preached  unto  them, 

VI.  One  more  insurmountable    Objection    to 
the  Unitarian  system  with  me,  is,  that  Infidels 


272  LETTER  VII. 

EVERY    WHERE    PREFER    THIS     SYSTEM    TO    ANY 
OTHER  THAT    BEARS  THE  CHRISTIAN   NAME,  aild 

feel  no  reluctance  to  uniting  in  worship  with  its 
adherents. 

It  is  not  an  Uncommon  thing  for  Unitarians  to 
boast,  that  avowed  Deists,  on  hearing,  or  read- 
ing the  discourses  of  their  distinguished  preach- 
ers, have  greatly  admired  them  ;  and  declared, 
that  if  the  system  exhibited  in  them  were  Chris- 
tianity, they  had  no  longer  any  difficulty  in 
taking  the  name  of  Christian.  I  have  been 
credibly  informed  of  repeated  instances  of  this 
kind  in  reference  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Channing^s 
sermon,  preached  and  published  in  Baltimore. 
Unitarians  consider  this  fact  as  a  most  potent 
argument  in  favour  of  their  creed  ;  as  an  argu.- 
ment,  that  it  is  so  rational,  and  so  strongly  com- 
mends itself  to  common  sense,  that  even  infidels 
bow  to  its  authority.  But  is  it  not  a  much  more 
direct  and  powerful  proof  of  something  very 
different ;  viz.  that  Unitarianisnl  and  Infidelity 
are  so  closely  allied,  that  he  who  embraces  the 
one,  has  really  no  good  reason  for  objecting  to  the 
other  ?  This,  I  have  no  doubt,  is  the  r;eal  ground 
of  the  fact  ii^  question.     And;  iadeed^  how  can 


LETTER  vn.  273 

it  be  otherwise  ?  The  prevalent  system  of  Uni- 
tarianism  at  the  present  day,  not  only  makes 
Christ  a  mere  man,  and  discards  the  whole  doc- 
trine of  Redemption ;  but  also,  as  you  have  seen, 
rejects  the  inspiration  of  the  scriptures  ;  and, 
in  short,  presents  a  system  reduced  so  nearly  to 
a  level  with  the  Deistical  scheme,  and  allows  so 
much  latitude  of  belief  and  of  feeling,  with  re- 
gard to  what  is  left,  that  the  Deist  must  be 
fastidious  indeed,  who  would  feel  much  repug- 
nance to  joining  in  communion  with  a  Unitarian 
society.  Dr.  Priestley  seems  to  have  been  very 
much  of  this  opinion ;  for,  in  writing  to  a  Uni- 
tarian friend,  co!ficerning  a  gentleman  who  had 
been  commonly  reputed  a  Deist,  he  observes — 
''  He  is  generally  considered  as  an  unbeliever : 

^'  IF   SO,    HOV/EVER,    HE    CANNOT    BE    FAR    FROM 

^'  US  ;  and  I  hope  in  the  way  to  be  not  only  al- 
^'  most  but  altogether  what  we  are."*  Mr. 
Belsham^  according  to  a  representation  given  in 
a  former  Letter,  explicitly  acknowledges,  that 
Unitarianism  does  not  differ,  in  any  important 
point,  from  serious  Deism;     and,   in  another 

*  See  Historti  of  American  Unitananism. 

M2 


274  LETTER  VII. 

place,   does  not  hesitate  to  avow,  that  he  would 
much  rather  embrace  Deism  than  Orthodoxy.*^ 

So  Infidels  themselves  view  the  matter.  They 
have  little  objection  to  the  prevalent  forms  of 
Unitarianism ;  not  because  they  are  willing  to 
approximate  to  real  Christianity ;  but  because 
they  see  something,  under  the  name  of  Christi- 
anity,   NEARLY    APPROACHING  TO   THEM.         Thc 

Editors  of  the  French  Encyclopedic^  under  thc 
article     Geneva^     express    themselves    thus — 
^*  Many  ministers  of  Gcjieva  have  no  other  re- 
^'  ligion  than  complete  Socinianism,  rejecting  all 
'^  they  call  mystery j  and  supposing  it  to  be  the 
^^  first  principle    of    true   religion  to    propose 
^^  nothing  for  belief  contrary  to  reason.      Thus, 
''  when  we  press  them  on  the  necessity  of  Reve- 
''  lation,  a  position   so  essential  to  Christianity, 
^^  many  of  them  substitute  in  its  place  utility ^ 
''  which  appears  to  them  a  softer  term.    In  this, 
^'  if  they  are  not  orthodox,  they  are  at  least 
"  consistent.       At    Geneva^   thei'e  is  less  com- 
"  plaint  made  than  elsewhere  of  the  progress  of 
''  infidelity  ;  which  ought  to  excite  no  surprise  : 
'^  religion  is  there  reduced  almost  entirely  to  thc 

*  Sevievf  of  l^ilberforce. 


LETTER  VIL  275 

'^  worship  of  one  God,  at  least  with  all  above 
^^  the  lowest  ranks.  Respect  for  Jesus  Christy 
'^  and  the  Scriptures,  is,  perhaps,  the  only  thing 
^^  which  distinguishes  the  Christianity  of  Geneva 
^'  from  pure  Deism/' 

Again;  under  the  article  UnitariafiSf  they 
speak  as  follows — '*  The  Unitarians  have  al- 
^^  ways  been  regarded  as  christian  divines  who 
^^  had  only  broken  and  torn  off  a  few  branches 
•^^  of  the  tree,  but  who  still  held  to  the  trunk ; 
^^  whereas  they  ought  to  have  been  considered 
^'  as  a  sect  of  philosophers,  who,  not  willing  to 
^^  give  too  violent  a  shock  to  the  worship  and 
*^  opinions,  true  or  false,  which  were  then  re- 
^^ceived,  did  not  choose  openly  to  avow  pure 
^^  Deism,  and  reject  formally,  and  without  re- 
^'  serve,  every  kind  of  revelation ;  but  who  were 
^^  continually  doing  with  respect  to  the  Old  and 
^'  New  Testament,  what  Epicurus  did  with  res- 
^'  pect  to  the  gods  ;    admitting  them  verbal- 

^^  LY,   but  DESTROYING    THEM  REALLY.       In  fact, 

^^  the  Unitarians  received  only  those  parts  of 
^^  scripture  which  they  found  conformable  to 
^^  the  natural  dictates  of  reason,  and  which 
^^  served  to  support  and  confirm  the  systems 
^^  which  they  had  embraced.     A  man  becomes  a 


276  LETTER  VIL 

^'  Protestant.  Soon  perceiving  the  inconsisteu-' 
^'  cy  of  the  principles  which  characterize  Fro- 
^'  testantism,  he  applies  to  Socinianism  for  a 
^^  solution  of  his  doubts  and  difficulties  ;  and  he 
^^  becomes  a  Socinian.  From  Socinianism  to 
^^  Deism  there  is  but  an  imperceptible  shade; 
^^  and  a  single  step  to  take— and  he  takes  it." 

In  coincidence  with  this  representation,  it 
cannot  be  denied,  that  the  ti'ansitions  from  Uni- 
tarianism  to  open  infidelity ; — the  instances  in 
which  the  single,  short  step,  just  referred  to,  has 
been  taken,  have  been  numerous  in  Great  Brit- 
ain, and  in  the  United  States,  as  well  as  on  the 
continent  oi  Europe,  Nay,  instances  have  not 
been  wanting  of  their  students  of  theology,  and 
even  their  ministers,  becoming  avowed  Deists> 
and  even  Atheists.  The  history  of  the  Acade- 
my at  Hackney,  in  England,  presents  a  strik- 
ing number  of  very  instructive  memorials  on  this 
subject.  Mr.  Belsham  himself  does  not  deny  it. 
"  This  fact,'^  says  he,  "  to  a  certain  extent,  can- 
"  not  be  denied  ;  and  most  surely  it  excited 
"  unpleasing  sensations  in  many,  and  not  least 
^^in  the  minds   of  those  whose  endeavours  to 


LETTER  VIT.  277 

''  form  them  to  usefulness  in  the  churchy  were; 
"  thus  painfully  disappointed.'' 

Nor  is  a  fact^  the  counterpart  of  that  which  I 
have  just  stated,  less  striking.  It  is  the  fact 
that  Deists  are  peculiarly  apt  to  unite  in  plans 
and  worship  with  Unitarians.  Accordingly,  if 
is,  I  believe,  notorious,  that,  in  all  those  places, 
in  our  Middle  and  Southern  States,  in  which 
Unitarian  congregations  have  been  organized^ 
within  a  few  years  past,  a  number  of  Deists 
have  joined  them,  and  become  attendants  on 
their  worship  ;  and  that  without  any  change  of 
opinion.  They  have  alledged,  that,  ^fc^ich 
places  of  public  worship,  they  seldom  or  never 
heard  any  thing  that  wounded  their  feelings,  or 
interfered  with  their  principles,  and  that  they 
were  fond  of  the  good  moral  lectures  which 
they  commonly  heard  from  the  preachers. 
They  have  remarked,  indeed,  that  a  few  of  the 
clergymen  who  ministered  to  these  congrega- 
tions, (as  for  example,  now  and  then  an  Arian 
w'ho  came  along)  were  a  little  more  serious,  and 
disposed  to  make  rather  more  of  the  Scriptures, 
and  of  Christ,  than  the  other  Unitarian  preach- 
ers were  wont  to  do  ;    and  this  they  could  wish 


278  LETTER  VIL 

were  otherwise.  But,  then,  they  have  remark- 
ed, at  the  same  time,  that,  as  the  highest  Arians, 
and  the  lowest  Socinians,  appeared  to  regard 
each  other  with  entire  complacency,  and  evi- 
dently made  a  common  cause  ;  and  as  the  most 
serious  of  them  were  infinitely  less  revolting 
than  the  Orthodox,  they  have,  in  general,  felt 
very  comfortably  at  home  among  them.  Some 
who  attend  at  Unitarian  places  of  worship,  upon 
principles,  and  with  feelings  of  this  kind,  I  per- 
sonally know  ;  of  others  I  have  heard,  and  have 
no  doubt  they  are  numerous. 

But  I  must  bring  this  long  Letter  to  a  close. 
If  the  foregoing  objections  be  well  founded  ;  if 
Unitarianism  be  averse  to  a  candid  avowal  of 
its  own  principles  ;  if  it  be  chargeable  with  ,a 
characteristick  indifference  to  truth  ;  if  it  be 
hostile  to  the  exercises  of  vital  piety  ;  if  it  strik- 
ingly fail  of  yielding  support  and  consolation  in 
death  ;  if  it  be  peculiarly  deficient  with  respect 
to  the  spirit  of  missions  ;  and,  finally,  if  it  be 
nearly  allied  to  Deism,  and  be  universally  pre- 
ferred by  Deists,  to  any  other  system  which 
bears  the  christian  name ; — need  we  ^further  tes- 
timony tha^it  is  not  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christy 

hut  ANOTHER  GOSPEL  ? 


LETTER  VIII. 


Objections  likely  to  he  made  by  Unitarians  to  the  foresoing 
statements — Mswer — Mvice  with  respect  to  the  prop^ 
er  manner  of  treating  Unitarians- — Reasons  in  support 
of  that  advice — Concluding  Remarks  and  Counsels. 

Christian  Brethren, 

I  HAVE  endeavoured,  in  the  foregoing  pages, 
to  the  best  of  my  knowledge  and  understanding, 
to  set  before  you  a  portrait  of  Unitarianism  as 
it  really  is.  I  can  sincerely  say,  that  I  have 
not,  intentionally,  distorted  or  magnified  a  sin- 
gle feature.  My  aim  has  been  to  inform  you, 
not  merely  what  the  adherents  of  this  system 
say  of  themselves  ;  but  also  what  the  pious  have 
said  of  them,  in  all  ages ;  and,  further,  what 
consequences,  both  in  regard  to  doctrine  and 
practice,  appear  to  me  naturally,  and  indeed 


280  LETTER  VIIE 

necessarily,  to  flow  from  their  fundamental  prin- 
ciples. And  the  whole  has  been  done  with  the 
sole  view  of  assisting  you  in  forming  a  judgment^ 
how  they  and  their  principles  ought  to  be  re- 
garded by  Christians. 

It  is  probable  that  many  Unitarians  will  tell 
you,  that  the  picture  I  have  drawn   is  not  a  cor- 
rect likeness  ;    that  the  representation  given   of 
their  opinions,  is   altogether  erroneous.        And 
I  have  no  doubt  that  some  who  go  under  the  gen- 
eral name  of  Unitarians,   may   with  truth  say^ 
that  they  abhor  some  of  the  sentiments  which  I 
have  set  down  as  parts  of  Unitarianism.       But 
what  would  such  persons  wish  us  to  do  ?    Here 
are  embattled  hosts,  drawing  near  the  camp  of 
our   Master  and  King,  and   manifesting  every 
disposition  to  destroy  both  Him  and  us.      They 
send   us  word,  that  they  are    willing  to  be   at 
peace  with  us,  on  condition  that  we  suffer  them 
to  come  into  our  camp,  and  to  vilify  and  stab 
our  beloved  Lord  at  pleasure.      And  when  we 
decline  to    receive   them    as    friends   on  these 
terms,   they  complain  of  us,  as  narrow-minded 
and   unsocial,  and   even  bitter  and  ^malignant. 
Some  of  thi^  hostile  army;  are  particularly  loud 


LETTER  VIII.  281 

in  their  complaints  of  the  injustice  of  our  refu- 
sal. "  Why/'  say  they,  "will  you  refuse  to  ad- 
"  mit  us  into  your  camp,  since  we  by  no  means 
"  carry  our  enmity  to  you  and  your  king,  so  far 
^'  as  the  great  mass  of  our  associates.  We  ex- 
"  ceedingly  disapprove  of  a  great  deal  that  they 
"  have  said  and  done.  Why,  therefore,  should 
"  we  be  treated  as  if  we  resembled  them  ?  Sure- 
"  ly  this  is  not  equitable."  Our  reply  is,  doubt- 
less, anticipated — "  We  cannot  receive!  you,  or 
"  treat  you  otherwise  than  we  do  your  associates 
"  in  arms.  You  confess  that,  although  not  so 
''  intensely  hostile  as  they  are,  you  are  still  ene- 
"  mies  to  the  dignity  and  kingdom  of  our  Mas- 
''  ter.  Tbis  is  enough  for  us.  We  have  no  wish 
'*  to  receive  known  and  avowed  foes  into  our 
**  camp.  But  if  we  were  willing  to  take  per- 
"  sons  of  your  character  by  the  hand,  still  we 
"  could  not  consistently  do  it,  as  long  as  you  re- 
"  main  connected  with  the  worst  of  our  oppo- 
^'  sers.  You  say,  you  entirely  disapprove 
''  of  much  that  they  have  said  and  done  ;  but 
"  still  you  take  their  name ;  you  follow  their 
^^  leader ;  you  fight  in  their  ranks  ;  you  aid  and 
"  abet  them  in  all  that  they  do ;  nay,  you 
"  ajre  not  willing  to  be  friends  with  us^  unles? 
N  2 


g82  LETTER  VIIL 

^^  we  will  consent  to  take  them  to  our  friendship 
^^  with  you.  We  will  receive  neither.  We  must 
^^  treat  you  all  alike.  As  to  all  practical  results^ 
^'  you  are  equally  guilty  with  them." 

Where  is  the  injustice  of  this  answer?  It 
applies,  most  exactly,  to  the  case  before  us. 
Although  there  may  be  some  in  the  Unitarian 
camp  in  the  United  States y  who  are  by  no  means 
prepared  to  degrade  the  character  of  the  Sa- 
viour to  mere  fallible  and  peccable  humanity; 
and  who  are  far  from  wholly  denying,  either  his 
Atonement,  or  the  inspiration  of  his  Word  ;  yet 
as  long  as  they  countenance,  assist,  and  defend 
those  who  do  go  the  whole  length  of  all  this ; 
and  as  this  is  evidently  understood  to  be  the 
predominant  system  of  Unitarianism  in  ouj* 
country,  there  can  be  no  injustice  in  pursuing 
the  course  which  I  have  done.  It  is  against  the 
system  as  it  prevalently  exists,  that  we 
wish  to  warn  christians  ;  and  especially  as  we 
believe  that  even  the  more  softened  and  plausi- 
ble forms  of  the  general  scheme,  have,  in  reali- 
ty the  same  spirit ^  and  are  leading  to  the  same 
issue. 


»• 


LETTER  VIII.  283 

It  is  not  improbable    that  some  Unitarians 
may  further  object,  that  I  have  not,  after  stat- 
ing each   testimony  or  argument,  in  the  forego- 
ing pages,  annexed  the  Unitarian  reply;  so  that 
my  readers  might  be  able  to  weigh  what  is  al- 
ledged  on  both  sides.       I  answer,  the  volume  is 
larger  than  I  intended,  as  it  is  ;    but  if  I  had 
done  this,  it   must   have    swelled    to  twice  or 
thrice  its  present  size.     Besides,  is  this  demand 
reasonable?     Do  our  opponents    act    upon  it 
themselves  ?  Do  no  Unitarians  allow  themselves 
to  state  and  enforce  their  own  interpretations  of 
scripture,   and  their  own  arguments,    without 
stopping  after  each,  to  exhibit  all,  or  the  sub- 
stance of  all,  that  learned  and  able  Trinitarians, 
have  said  against  them  ?    They  will  not  pretend 
that  they  do  this.  I  can,  however,  assure  you,  my 
Christian  Friends,  that,  in  each  case,  as  far  as 
was  in  my  power,  I    have  carefully   weighed 
v^rhat  Unitarians  are  accustomed  to  say  in  reply 
to  my  testimonies  and  arguments  ;    and  have  of- 
fered none,  but  what  appeared  to  me  to  remain 
in  full  force,  after  all  they  have  urged. 

You  are  now,  I  trust,  prepared,  without  hes- 
itation^  to  answer  the  questions  which  were  ask- 


iS4  LETTER  VIIl. 

ed  toward  the  close  of  the  first  Letter ; — viz— 
What  estimate  you  ought  to  form  of  the  opinions 
of  Unitarians  ?  How  you  ought  to  treat  their 
persons?  How  to  consider  their /?r(?«6'Am^?  How 
to  act  with  respect  to  their  publications  F  Wheth- 
er you  ought  to  regard  them  as  Christians  at 
all  ?  Whether  their  congregations  ought  to  he 
called  churches  of  Christ?  And  whether  the 
crdinances  which  they  administer  ought  to  be 
sustained  as  valid  ?  You  are  prepared^  I  hope, 
to  decide,  promptly  and  without  wavering,  that 
they  are  by  no  means  to  be  considered  as 
CHBiSTiANS,  in  any  scriptural  sense  of  the 
word  ;  that  their  preaching  is  to  be  avoided  as 
blasphemy ;  their  publications  to  be  abhorred 
as  pestiferous  ;  their  ordinances  to  be  held  un- 
worthy of  regard  as  christian  institutions;  and 
their  persons  to  be  in  all  respects  treated  as  de- 
cent AND  SOBER  DeISTS  IN   DISGUISE.      Such  is 

the  estimate  which  I  feel  constrained  to  form  for 
myself;  and,  of  course,  that  which  I  wish  to  im- 
press upon  your  minds.  And,  if  I  do  not  de- 
ceive myself,  you  have  seen  enough  to  preclude 
all  doubt  as  to  its  justice.  If  they  reject  every 
fundamental  doctrine  of  the  religion  of  Christy 
they,  of  course,  reject  ehristianity  ;    if  they  ve~ 


LETTER  VIII.  28o 

ject  Christianity^  they,  surely,  are  not  christians ;. 
if  they  are  not  christians,  their  congregations, 
evidently,  ought  not  to  be  called  churches,  nor 
their  ordinances  considered  as  valid :  and,  these 
things  being  so,  you  ought  to  regard  a  propo- 
sition to  go  and  hear  them  preach,  or  to  read 
their  publications,  as  you  would  a  proposition 
to  hear  a  preacher  of  open  infidelity,  or  to  read 
an  artful  publication  of  a  follower  of  Herbert  or 
of  Hume, 

I  have  said,  that  Unit.ariaus  ought  to  be  con- 
sidered and  treated  as  Deists  in  disguise.  I 
beg  that  this  language  may  not  be  misconstrued. 
It  is  by  no  means  my  intention  to  intimate,  for  I 
do  not  believe,  that  Unitarians  are,  as  a  sect,  a 
set  of  hypocrites  ;  that  they  profess  one  thing, 
and  really  believe  another.  I  have  no  reason  to 
doubt  that  they  are  as  sincere  in  their  profession 
of  belief,  that  is,  that  they  as  really  believe  what 
X\\Q^Y profess  to  believe,  as  any  of  us  all.  But  my 
meaning  is,  that,  while  they  assume,  and  insist 
on  retaining  the  christian  name,  their  creed  real- 
ly does  not  differ  much,  in  substance,  from  that 
of  serious  Deists.  Now,  if  this  be  the  case,  and 
if  the  fact  that  they  are  substantially  Deists,  be, 


286  LETTER  VIIL 

in  effect,  concealed  from  popular  view  by  the 
name  which  they  bear,  what  is  this  but  being 
Deists  under  the  christian  name,  in  other  words, 
Deists  in  disguise  ?  I  certainly  take  no  pleasure 
in  using  offensive  language.  On  the  contrary, 
I  can  truly  say,  that  every  thing  of  this  kind 
which  I  have  employed  in  these  Letters  has 
been  extorted  from  me  by  a  painful  sense  of  du- 
ty ;  but  my  obligation  to  state  that  which  I  deem 
both  true,  and  highly  important  to  the  best  in- 
terests of  mankind,  is  paramount  to  all  consider- 
ations of  delicacy  or  ceremony. 

My  advice  to  refuse  all  attendance  on  the 
preaching,  and  to  avoid  all  perusal  of  the  publi- 
cations, of  Unitarians,  will,  perhaps,  appear  to 
some,  of  more  dubious  propriety.  "  What  V^- 
some  may  be  ready  to  say,  "  are  you  so  great 
^'  an  enemy  to  free  inquiry,  and  so  fearful  of  the 
*•  effects  of  it  on  your  own  cause,  as  to  oppose 
^'  the  reading  of  works  hostile  to  what  you  deem 
''  truth  ?  How  are  the  friends  of  orthodoxy  to 
*'•  be  establishe^d  in  the  faith,  but  by  temperate 
^'  and  candid  discussion  ?  And  how  is  such  dis- 
''  cussion  to  be  impartially  conducted,^  without  at 
'*  least  the  occasional  perusal  of  books  written  in 


LETTER  VIII.  2Sf 

^'  opposition  to  the  truth  ?''  This  plea  appears, 
at  first  view,  by  no  means  destitute  of  plausibil- 
ity ;  but  will  be  found,  I  think,  when  carefully 
examined,  wholly  without  force. 

I  am  a  warm  friend  to  free  and  impartial  in- 
quiry ;  and  where  persons  have  leisure,  a  taste 
for  reading,  and  such  habits  of  investigation  as 
qualify  them  for  the  task,  I  think  it  my  duty  to 
encourage  extensive  reading  on  both  sides  of  the 
most  fundamental  subjects  wliich  become  matter 
of  controversy.  Those  who  are  called  to  defend 
the  truth,  are  especially  and  solemnly  bound  to 
make  themselves  acquainted,  as  far  as  they  have 
opportunity,  with  the  diversified  arts  and  re- 
fuges of  error ;  and  even  some  of  those  who  are 
not  ofiicial  defenders  of  the  faith,  may,  profitably 
to  themselves,  and  usefully  to  others,  employ  a 
portion  of  their  time  in  examining  the  works  of 
hereticks,  and  even  of  the  worst  hereticks.  Such 
an  examination,  when  properly  conducted,  will 
tend  to  confirm  their  faith;  to  enlarge  their  minds 
and  views ;  to  put  them  on  their  guard  against 
the  spirit  of  Antichrist;  and  to  render  the  truth 
as  it  is  in  Jesus  more  dear  to  their  hearts.  No 
man  was  ever  yet  injured  by  an  enlightened,  de- 


288  LETTER  YIII. 

voutj  and  cautious  investigation  of  the  ground 
on  which  he  rests.  And  I  will  venture  to  add^ 
that  if  any  man  will  honestly;  and  patiently  read 
both  sides  of  the  Unitarian  controversy ;  if  he 
will,  with  diligence,  and  prayer,  and  candour^ 
do  ample  justice  to  the  best  works  in  support  of 
that  system,  as  well  as  to  the  best  in  opposition 
to  it,  I  have  no  fear  of  the  result.  I  have  no 
doubt  that  the  further  he  proceeds  in  this 
course,  the  more  he  will  discover  of  the  perni- 
cious and  blasphemous  character  of  that  '*  God- 
denying  heresy/'  which  it  is  the  object  of  these 
pages  to  exhibit  and  oppose. 

But  where  persons  have  little  leisure  or 
taste  for  reading ;  where  they  have  no  opportu- 
nity of  perusing  the  ablest  works  which  have 
been  written  in  favour  of  the  personal  glory  and 
work  of  the  Redeemer,  and  no  conscientious,  set- 
tled purpose  of  procuring  and  studying  them  ; — 
in  short,  where  they  do  not  firmly  resolve  to  go 
deeply  into  the  subject,  and  do  something  like 
full  justice  to  both  sides  in  the  dispute  ;  then 
let  them  carefully  avoid  Unitarian  publications. 
To  do  otherwise  would  be  like  swallowing  poi- 
son, without  accompanying  or  following  it  with 


LETTER  VIIT.  289 

the  requisite  antidote.  Many  a  man  has  begun 
with  the  intention  of  reading  no  more  than  an 
occasional  pamphlet  or  two  on  the  side  of  her- 
esy, and  fully  resolving,  at  the  same  time,  to 
study  some  of  the  best  replies,  or  other  respec- 
table treatises,  on  the  opposite  side :  but  as  he 
advanced,  his  taste  for  the  former  daily  increas- 
ed ;  they  soothed  his  feelings,  flattered  his 
pride,  and  drew  him  insensibly  into  the  snare. 
He  forgot  his  resolution  to  read  on  the  side  of 
truth;  and,  in  a  little  while,  became  confirm* 
ed  in  fundamental  error,  without  any  thing  that 
deserv<?d  the  name  of  sober  inquiry. 

I  repeat  it,  then,  avoid  Unitarian  publica- 
tions, as  you  would  a  cup  of  poison;  unless  you 
are  prepared  and  determined  to  go  fully  into  the 
examination  of  the  controversy.  When  you  are 
urged  to  purchase  or  peruse  them,  ask  your- 
selves, in  the  fear  of  God,  "  Am  I  in  a  situation 
*'  to  read  on  both  sides  of  this  dispute,  to  such  ex- 
^'  tent,  and  with  such  patience,  as  its  importance 
*'  evidently  demands?"  If  you  cannot  answer  this 
question  in  the  afiirmative,  turn  away  from  the 
proposal  with  pious  abhorrence.      Life  is  too 


02 


290  LETTER  VIII. 

short  to  be  wasted  on  trash,  and  the  soul  tod 
precious  to  be  made  the  sport  of  a  series  of  fanr 
eied  experiments  on  deadly  poison.  Study  the 
Bible  more  than  any  other  book.  There  you 
will  find  "  truth  without  any  mixture  of  error.'' 
Recollect  that  you  are  hastening  to  a  tribunal^ 
where  the  dogmas  of  men  can  avail  you  nothing, 
and  where  the  word  of  God  will  furnish  the 
great  and  only  standard  of  trial.  I  entreat  you, 
then,  to  study  it  daily,  with  humble  prayer,  that 
you  may  be  led  into  all  truth,  and  that  you  may 
be  enabled  to  apply  it  in  a  wise  and  profitable 
manner.  The  time  and  attention  bestowed  on 
this  blessed  Volume,  you  will  never  regret  in  a 
dying  hour :  but  thousands,  in  that  solemn  hour^ 
have  reproached  infidel  and  heretical  seducers, 
as  the  authors  of  their  ruin,  and  mourned,  with 
anguish  of  spirit,  over  the  folly  of  listening  to 
their  plausible  but  destructive  falsehoods. 

But,  if  you  avoid  the  preaching  and  the  books 
of  Unitarians,  it  will  perhaps  be  asked,  how 
ought  you  to  treat  their  persons  ?  I  answer,  with 
all  that  respect  and  benevolence  which  the  ties  of 
humanity  and  neighbourhood  demand*  Though 
:they  are  in/fatal  error ;    though  they   preach 


LETTER  VIII.  291 

another  gospel;  an  entirely  different  religion 
from  that  which  you  believe ;  yet  this  diversity 
does  by  no  means  dissolve  the  ties  of  nature,  of 
kindred,  or  of  society.  Still  they  are  children 
of  the  same  common  Parent,  and  they  need  all 
the  tenderness  of  your  compassion,  and  all  the 
importunity  of  your  prayers.  Treat  them,  then, 
with  attention  and  respect.  Be  ever  ready  to 
promote  their  welfare  and  happiness.  Let  all 
bitterness,  and  wrath,  and  ani  nosity  be  banished 
from  your  intercourse  with  them.  Pray  for 
them  without  ceasing ;  and  endeavour  to  win 
them  by  the  lustre  of  your  example.  Let  them 
see,  in  short,  that  you  possess  the  spirit  of  the 
gospel ;  that  you  have  no  feelings  of  wounded 
pride,  or  personal  resentment,  on  account  of 
their  differing  from  you  ;  but  that  a  tender  con- 
cern for  their  temporal  and  eternal  interest,  im- 
pels you  to  desire  and  pray,  that  God  may  give 
them  repentance  to  the  acknowledgment  of  the 
truth,  ' 

How  would  you  treat  an  avowed  Beist^  who 
should  reside  in  your  neighbourhood,  and  main- 
tain a  decent,  and  even  exemplary  moral  char- 
acter ?    You  certainly  would  not  think  of  with- 


2^2  LETTER  VIIL 

drawing  from  him  the  kind  offices  of  society. 
You  would  not  study  to  meet  him  with  a  scowl^ 
and  to  convince  him  continually,  by  repulsive 
and  contemptuous  treatment,  that  you  despised 
him,  and  wished  to  avoid  his  company.  Far  less 
would  you  allow  yourselves  to  assail  him  with 
the  language  of  scorn  and  reproach,  whenever 
you  happened  to  fall  in  his  way.  On  the  con- 
trary, you  would  endeavour,  by  a  mild  and  res- 
pectful deportment;  by  friendly  offices;  by  a  con- 
stant manifestation  of  christian  benevolence  ;  by 
embracing  suitable  occasions  to  converse  with 
him,  in  a  fraternal  and  affectionate  manner,  on 
the  great  subject,  respecting  which  you  thought 
so  differently;  and  by  showing,  in  every  proper 
way,  that  yiu  really  wished  him  well,  temporal- 
ly and  eternally,  to  bring  him  to  a  better  mind* 
Let  this  be  the  model  for  your  treatment  of  Uni- 
tarians. If  they  are  Deists  in  disguise^  as  I  have 
alledged,  there  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  justice  of 
such  treatment.  Were  there  to  be  any  differ- 
ence of  conduct  on  the  part  of  Christians,  in  the 
two  cases  supposed,  they  ought  perhaps,  to  be 
more  marked  in  their  refusal  to  recognize  Uni- 
tarians in  their  religious  character,  because  they 
lay  claim  to  the  title  of  christian,  while  the  others 
do  not;  but  avow  their  real  name  and  principles. 


LETTER  VIII.  29S 

Rely  on  it,  my  Friends,  Unitarians  have  been 
too  long  courteously  called  Christians,  and  re- 
cognized as  such  by  the  Orthodox  around  them. 
We  have  too  long  suffered  the  principles  of 
worldly  politeness  to  betray  us  into  unfaithful- 
ness to  the  cause  of  our  Master.  When  Unita- 
rianism  was  rare  in  our  country,  and  rather 
courted  concealment  than  publicity  ;  and  when, 
in  most  cases,  the  sentiments  of  certain  individ- 
uals on  this  subject  were  rather  suspected  than 
known,  it  was  customary,  particularly  in  some 
neighbourhoods,  without  scruple,  to  allow  them 
a  place  among  the  various  denominations  of 
Christians ;  to  associate  with  them,  on  equal 
terms,  as  such ;  and  even  to  admit  of  free  eccle- 
siastical intercourse.  Some  of  the  Orthodox, 
from  local  circumstances,  have  been  so  much  in 
habits  of  this  kind,  that  it  seems  difficult,  if 
not  a  kind  of  outrage,  to  alter  them.  But 
is  it  not  a  duty  to  submit  to  such  an  altera- 
tion, painful  as  it  may  be  to  social  feeling?  If  it 
was  the  duty  of  the  Reformers  and  their  adher- 
ents, to  come  out  from  Babylon  the  great,  the 
mother  of  harlots  and  abominations  ;  and  if  it  be 
allowed,  on  all  hands,  to  be  incumbent  on  chris- 
tians to  refuse   all    fellowship,    in    matters  of 


294  LETTER  VIII. 

religion^  with  the  tribes  of  open  infidelity ;  to  me 
it  appears  equally  plain,  that  christians  ought 
no  longer  to  acknowledge  as  such,  or  to  think  of 
meeting  on  any  common  religious  ground,  those 
who  deny  the  christian's  God,  and  preach  en- 
tirely another  gospel.  Come  out  from  among 
them,  and  be  ye  separate^  saith  the  Lord,  and 
touch  not  the  unclean  thing,  and  I  will  receive 
you,  and  ye  shall  he  my  sons  and  daughters,  saith 
ihe  Lord  Almighty, 

With  respect  to  the  validity  of  sealing  ordi- 
nances administered  by  Unitarians,  the  highest 
Judicatory  of  the  Church  to  which  we  belong 
has  given  a  decision,  which  ought  to  be  general- 
ly known ;  which,  I  trust,  will  be  regarded  with 
approbation  and  respect  by  every  Presbyterian, 
in  the  United  States ;  and  which  goes  the  whole 
length  of  justifying  all  that  I  have  said,  in  the 
present  Letter,  respecting  the  manner  in  which 
that  sect  ought  to  be  considered  by  christians. 

In  the  year  1814,  a  question  was  laid  before 
the  General  Assembly,  by  the  Presbytery  of 
Harmony,  in  the  following  words,  viz.# 


LETTER  VIII.  295 

^^  A  person  who  had  been  baptized  in  his  in- 
^^  fancy  by  Dr.  Priestley,  applied  for  admission 
''  to  the  Lord's  Table.  Ought  the  baptism  ad- 
^'  ministered  by  Dr.  Priestley^  then  a  Unitarian, 
^'  to  be  considered  as  valid  V^ — The  Assembly, 
after  mature  deliberation,  decided  as  follows : — 
viz. 

^'  Resolved,  That  this  question  be  answered 
"  in  the  negative,  and  it  was  accordingly  deter- 
"  mined  in  the  negative.  In  the  present  state 
"  of  our  country,  whilst  Unitarian  errors,  in  va- 
^^  rious  forms,  are  making  their  insidious  ap- 
"  proaches  ;  whilst  the  advocates  of  this  heresy, 
"  in  many  cases,  are  practising  a  system  of  con- 
"  cealment,  and  insinuating  themselves  into  the 
"  confidence  of  multitudes  who  have  no  suspi" 
"  cion  of  their  defection  from  the  faith,  the  As- 
"  sembly  feel  it  to  be  their  duty  to  speak  with- 
''  out  reserve.  It  is  the  deliberate  and  unani- 
^'  mous  opinion  of  this  Assembly,  that  those  who 
*'  renounce  the  fundamental  doctrine  of  the 
"Trinity,  and  deny  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the 
"  same  in  substance,  equal  in  power  and  glory 
i^  with  the  Father,  cannot  be  recognized  as  min- 
"  isters  of  the  Gospel,  and  that  their  ministra- 
"  tions  are  wholly  invalid,'^ 


296  LETTER  VIII. 

This  decision  needs  no  explanation  or  defence. 
It  precisely  accords  with  what  you  have  seen  in 
the  fifth  Letter,   to  have  been  the  judgment  of 
the  primitive  churchy   and   of  the  pious  in  all 
ages.     No  law  of  the  family  of  Christ  was  re- 
garded as  more  settled  and  familiar,   than  that 
those  who  denied  the  Divinity  and  Atonement 
of  the  Redeemer,  were  to  be  denied  the  name  of 
Christian,  and  their  ordinances  rejected   as  of 
no  validity.     In  deciding  as  they  did,  then,  our 
church  did  no   more  than  follow  the  example  of 
primitive  times,  and  the  best  models  of  ecclesi- 
astical order  and  purity,  from  that  period  to  the 
present. 

This  decision  of  our  General  Assembly  has, 
indeed,  been  stigmatized  by  Unitarians,  as  a 
piece  of  ecclesiastical  "  intolerance'^  of  a  very 
odious  kind.  But  such  a  charge  displays  as 
much  of  ignorance  as  of  weakness.  Happily  for 
our  country,  neither  the  General  Assembly  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church,  nor  any  other  ecclesi- 
astical body  in  the  United  States,  has  a  right  to 
talk  of  ^^ toleration,"  or  to  attempt  "  intolerance,'^ 
towards    any    religious  community  "whatever. 


LETTER  VIII.  297 

Toleration  presupposes  a  power  to  put  down; 
of  which  every  one  knows  the  very  suggestion  to 
be  ridiculous.  But  is  it  ^^intolerance"  for  a 
church  to  fi'x.  the  terms  for  regulating  its  own 
communion?  Has  not  every  church,  self-evident- 
ly,  a  right  to  say  whom  it  will  receive,  and  whom 
it  will  not  receive,  to  its  peculiar  privileges  ? 
Does  the  father  of  a  family  '^  oppress"'  or  "  in- 
jure'' the  community  in  which  he  lives,  when  he 
gives  notice  that  he  cannot  admit  as  residents 
under  his  own  roof,  those  who  will  not  conform 
to  his  own  rules  ?  Certainly  not.  He  may  even 
make  unwise  or  capricious  rules,  the  operation 
of  which  may  incommode  and  injure  his  own 
family  ;  but  he  invades  the  liberty  of  no  one  out 
of  it ;  and  the  good  sense  of  one  who  should  com- 
plain that  such  a  man  infringed  on  the  rights  of 
his  neighbours,  would  not,  I  take  it,  be  very  fa- 
vourably estimated.  In  like  manner,  it  is  con- 
ceivable that  the  Presbyterian  church  may  go  to 
an  extreme  in  narrowing  the  door  of  admission 
to  her  communion;  but  that  is  her  own  concern. 
Others  have  nothing  to  do  with  it.  The  only  ef- 
fect can  be  to  thin  her  ranks,  and  weaken  her- 
self. Her  own  published  views  of  this  subject 
appear  to  me  entirely  correct.  "  Every 
P  2 


298  LETTER  VIH. 

^^  christian  church,''  she  asserts,  ^^is  entitlelj 
^^  to  declare  the  terms  of  admission  into  its 
"  communion,  and  the  qualifications  of  its  niin- 
^^  isters  and  members ;  as  well  as  the  whole 
'^  system  of  its  internal  government  which  Christ 
''  hath  appointed.  In  the  exercise  of  this  right 
"  they  may,  notwithstanding,  err,  in  making  the 
"  the  terms  of  communion  either  too  lax,  or  too 
''  narrow :  yet,  even  in  this  case,  they  do  not 
^^  infringe  upon  the  liberty  or  the  rights  of  oth- 
''  ers ;  but  only  make  an  improper  use  of  their 
''  own.''*  After  this,  it  is  hoped  no  man  will 
venture  to  talk  of  "  Presbyterian  intolerance,'* 
who  either  understands  the  meaning  of  terms, 
when  applied  to  American  churches,  or  who 
wishes  to  escape  the  ridicule  of  all  persons  of 
common  sense. 

Let  not  the  confidence  with  which  Unitarians 
predict  the  downfal  of  Orthodoxy,  and  the  spee- 
dy prevalence  of  their  system  throughout  Chris- 
tendom, give  you  a  moment's  alarm.  One  of 
the  arts  by  which  they  sometimes  endeavour  to 
recommend  that  system,  is  to  predict,  that,  in  a 

*  Iktiioductiojt  to  the  Form  of  Government  of  tlie  Preabyterian 
Church. 


LETTER  VIII.  299 

<very  few  years,  (some  have  said  in  ten)  there 
will  be  no  other  form  of  Christianity  than  Uni- 
tarianism,  countenanced  by  any  respectable  por- 
tion of  mankind.    Let  no  man's  heart  fail  him  at 
such    predictions.       They  are  "great  sxvel/i?jg 
words  of  vaniti}^^^  which  will  issue  in  nothing 
but  the  disappointment  and  shame  of  those  who 
litter  them.      I  am  inclined,  indeed,  to  believe 
that  there  will  be,  for  a  time,  considerable  ad- 
ditions to  the  ranks  of  Unitarian  societies.     But 
from  what  sources  will  these  additions  be  drawn  ? 
From  among  the    sober,  thinking,    and    exem- 
plary members  of  Orthodox  congregations  ?   All 
probability  and  all  experience  say  no.    But  from 
the  ranks  of  infidelity ;    from  among  those  who 
belong  to  no  congregations  whatever,   and  who 
have  forborne   to  connect  themselves  with  any, 
because  there  was  too  much  religion  among  them 
for  their  taste.      Those  persons  must  have  been 
very  careless  observers  of  what  was  passing  be- 
fore them,  who  have  not  perceived,  that  infidels^ 
scepticks,  the  profane  and  licentious,  those  who 
wish  to  continue  in  sin,  and  yet  to  have  no  fear 
of  hell,  and  in  general  the  enemies   of  a  strict 
and  spiritual  religion,  are,  in  many  places,  flock- 
ing to  the  Unitarian  standard.     And  as   these 


300  LETTER  VIIL 

form  a  numerous  body,  in  every  part  of  the 
world,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  considera- 
ble numbers  of  them  will  adorn  the  triumph  of 
Unitarians  for  a  few  years  to  come.  But  it  will 
be  a  triumph  as  short  as  it  is  ignoble.  It  is  just 
as  incredible  that  such  materials  should  form  a 
respectable  and  permanent  religious  body,  on 
which  the  Divine  blessing  may  be  expected  to 
rest,  as  that  the  image  in  Nebuchadnezzar^ s 
dream,  made  up  of  brass^  (the  fine  gold  and  even 
the  silver  are  entirely  wanting  here)  and  ironi, 
and  clay^  should  have  lasted  forever.  Their 
cause,  like  that  image,  will  soon  crumble  to 
pieces,  before  the  breath  of  Jehovah  our 
RIGHTEOUSNESS,  whom  they  blaspheme.  The 
truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  and  the  Church  founded 
upon  it,  have  survived  the  impious  efforts  of 
Cei'inthusj  and  Ebion^  of  j\oetus»  and  Artemon, 
of  Arius,  and  Socinus^  and  of  a  host  like  them ; 
and  it  will  survive,  and  gi  ow,  and  triumph  glo- 
riously, when  the  similar  efforts  of  their  succes- 
sors of  the  present  day  shall  have  gone  the  way 
of  all  such  unhallowed  and  spurious  things. 

I  have  thus,  my  Christian  Brethren,,  complet- 
ed the  consicjeration  of  the  principal  subjects  on 


LETTER  VIH.  30t 

which  I  proposed  to  address  you  in  these  Let* 
ters.  How  the  arguments  which  have  been 
urged  may  impress  your  minds,  I  cannot  venture 
to  foretel ;  but  I  have  urged  none  which  did  not 
appear  to  myself,  weighty  and  conclusive.  I 
have  studied,  on  tiie  one  hand,  not  to  magnify 
the  importance  of  any  truth  beyond  what  I  ver- 
ily believe  the  word  of  God  to  warrant;  and  on 
the  other,  not  to  represent  the  guilt  and  danger 
of  any  error,  as  greater  than  the  same  unerring 
word,  in  my  view,  has  pronounced  it.  I  can- 
not help  once  more  repeating,  that  it  has  given 
me  real  pain  to  employ  the  language  which  I 
have  felt  myself  compelled  to  employ  with  res- 
pect to  Unitarians  and  their  principles ;  and 
nothing  but  a  sacred  regard  to  truth,  to  the  du- 
ty which  I  owe  to  my  Master  in  heaven,  and  to 
your  immortal  souls,  and  the  souls  of  your  chil- 
dren, would  have  induced  me  to  adopt  such  lan- 
guage. If  I  do  not  deceive  myself,  I  have  de- 
sired, in  every  sentence  that  I  have  written,  to 
speak  the  truth  in  love,  and  to  recollect  that  both 
you  and  I  must  soon  appear  before  the  judg- 
ment seat  of  Christ. 


302  LETTER  VIII. 

Before  I  close,  it  is  my  earnest  desire,  my 
respected  Friends,  to  remind  both  You  and  my- 
self of  three  CONSIDERATIONS,  vvhich  I  humbly 
conceive  ought  never  to  be  lost  sight  of  on  this 
subject,  and  a  due  regard  to  which  cannot  but 
be  productive  of  the  happiest  effects. 

The  FIRST  is.  That  while  we  sedulously  main- 
tain, as  DOCTRINES,  the  great  truths  in  support 
of  w  hich  I  have  written,  it  is  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance that  we  EMBRACE  THEM  AS  PRACTICAL 
PRINCIPLES,  AND  LIVE  UNDER  THEIR  SANCTIFY- 
ING INFLUENCE.  We  may  hold  the  truth  in 
unrighteousness.  Many,  no  doubt,  have  done  so. 
Men  may  be  perfectly  orthodox  in  speculation  ; 
nay,  they  may  be  bigotted  and  even  furious  con- 
tenders for  the  faith  once  delivered  to  the  saintsy 
and  yet  know  nothing  of  that  cordial  reception 
of  the  trutli,  as  a  practical  system,  which  distin- 
guishes real  from  nominal  christians,  and  whick 
alone  can  secure  to  us  either  the  consolations, 
or  the  sanctifying  effects,  of  that  religion  which 
we  profess.  Let  us,  then,  often,  and  seriously 
inquire,  while  we  maintain  correct  opinions  con- 
cerning the  Person  and  work  of  the  blessed  Sa- 
viour^ how  DWY  HEARTS  Stand  aifected  towards 


LETTER  VIII.  303 

liim  ?  Has  the  light  of  the  knowledge  of  the  glo- 
ry of  God,  as  it  shines  in  the  face  of  Jesus  Christy 
shone  into  our  hearts  ?  Has  He  manifested  him- 
self to  us,  not  as  He  does  to  the  world,  but  as  He 
does  to  them  whom  He  has  chosen  out  of  the 
world  ?  Has  his  personal  glory  inspired  our  su- 
preme love  ?  Do  we  study  to  maintain  an  affec- 
tionate communion  with  Father,  Son,  and  Holy 
Ghost,  as  our  covenant  God,  in  all  the  ador- 
able perfections,  and  appropriate  offices  of  each 
Person  ?  Does  the  love  of  Christ  daily  constrain 
us  ?  Do  we  go  to  his  blessed  fulness  continually 
for  light,  and  strength,  and  sanctification  and 
comfort  ?  As  we  are  indebted  to  his  great  un^ 
dertaking,  and  his  atoning  sacrifice,  for  all  that 
we  enjoy  and  hope  for,  do  we  habitually  cherish 
that  deep  and  tender  sense  of  obligation  which 
corresponds  with  this  fact ;  coming  to  Him  daily 
with  love,  gratitude,  and  thanksgiving,  and  rely- 
ing on  Him  for  xvisdom,  righteousness ^  sanctifica- 
tion,  and  complete  redemption  ? 

There  is,  indeed,  little  prospect  of  being  able 
to  impress  the  mind  of  any  one  with  a  just  sense 
of  the  importance  of  the  doctrines  which  we  have 
been  considering,  until  they  begin  to  be  viewed 


304  LETTER  Vlll. 

in  the  light  of  personal  experience.  However 
perfectly  we  may  demonstrate  their  fundamental 
nature,  they  will,  after  all,  be  really  regarded  as 
matters  of  speculation  only,  as  long  as  those  to 
whom  they  are  addressed  remain  at  ease  in  sin. 
But  when  their  eyes  are  opened  to  see  their  real 
situation,  as  fallen  and  perishing  sinners,  then 
the  question,  whether  the  Saviour  into  whose 
hands  they  are  invited  to  commit  their  souls,  is 
the  mighty  God,  or  a  frail  and  fallible  man  like 
themselves,  will  appear  momentous  indeed! 
Then  they  will  not  only  embrace  his  Divinity  as 
a  doctrine  of  the  Bible,  but  as  the  foundation  of 
their  hopes,  and  the  life  of  their  souls.  Then 
they  will  see  a  beauty,  a  value,  an  infinite  impor- 
tance, and  a  glory  in  this  great  doctrine,  which 
no  conclusions  of  reasoning  ever  imparted  to  it- 
in  their  view  before.  Yes,  my  Friends,  it  is  on- 
ly when  we  receive  this  precious  truth  in  the  love 
of  it,  that  we  can  be  said  to  be  rooted  and  ground- 
ed in  the  faith.  It  is  only  then  that  we  can  be 
said  to  build  upon  the  foundation  of  the  Apostles 
and  Prophets,  Jesus  Christ  himself  being  the  chief 
corner  stone. 


LETTER  Vlir.  305 

The  SECOND  suggestion  which  I  wish  to  offer^ 
relates  to  the  importance  of  your  endeavouring, 
with  all  the  diligence  and  solicitude  which  be- 
come Christian  Parents^    daily  to  inculcate 

CORRECT  SENTIMENTS  IN  RELATION  TO  THIS,  AS 
WELL  AS  EVERY  OTHER  SUBJECT,  ON  YOUR  BE- 
LOVED Children. 

In  these  "days  of  rebuke  and  of  blasphemy/^ 
I  know  not  a  more  important  duty  devolving  on 
us  as  followers  of  Christ,  than  to  train  up  our 
Offspring  in  the  knowledge  and  love  of  his 
truth.  All  the  most  precious  interests  of  our 
children  themselves,  of  civil  society,  and  of  the 
church  of  God,  are  involved  in  a  faithful  dis- 
charge of  this  duty.  If  we  neglect  to  instruct 
and  w^arn  them,  at  a  period  of  life  in  which  the 
want  of  experience,  the  strength  of  passion,  and 
a  proneness  to  be  carried  away  by  plausible 
professions  and  appearances,  peculiarly  expose 
them  to  danger,  the  most  fearful  consequences 
may  be  expected  ;  consequences  involving  noth- 
ing less  than  their  eternal  death  ;  but  their  blood 
-will  be  required  at  our  hands,  I  know  that  some 
parents  deliberately  act  upon  the  principle  of 
taking  no  measures  to  enlighten  the  minds  of 
Q2 


306  LETTER  VIII. 

their  children  on  the  subject  of  religion^  and  es- 
pecially of  forbearing  to  prepossess  them  in  fa- 
vour of  any  system  of  doctrine  ;  on  the  plea, 
that  any  attempt  to  instil  a  particular  set  of  sen- 
timents into  their  minds,  has  a  tendency  to  fill 
them  with  prejudices,  and  to  interfere  with  au 
impartial  inquiry  and  judgment  for  themselves, 
when  they  reach  mature  age.  But  can  there  be 
a  more  unreasonable  plea  ?  Do  we  calculate 
thus  in  the  ordinary  affairs  of  life  ?  What  should 
WG  think  of  that  parent,  who  should  determine- 
never  to  inform  his  child,  that  if  he  thrust  his 
hand  into  the  fire,  it  will  be  burnt ;  or  that  if  he 
swallow  a  virulent  poison,  it  will  destroy  his  life 
— for  fear  of. filling  his  mind  with  prejudices? 
Or  what  should  we  think  of  the  parent,  who 
should  refuse  to  apprize  a  child,  whom  he  pro- 
fessed greatly  to  love,  that  li/ing  and  theft  are 
base  practices,  which  will  infallibly  bring  those 
who  indulge  them  to  disgrace  and  punishment — 
under  the  pretence  that  he  did  not  wish  to  pre- 
occupy his  mind,  or  to  interfere  with  free  inqui- 
ry, on  moral  subjects?  We  should  certainly  pro- 
nounce such  a  parent  either  a  monster  of  cruel- 
ty, or  miserably  insane.  But  if  evei;y  parent 
consider  it  t^/e  part  of  wisdom  and  affection  to 


.  LETTER  VIII.  307 

put  his  children  on  tlieir  guard,  as  early  as  pos- 
sible, against  every  thing  which  may  endanger 
their  temporal  welfare  ;  how  much  more  press- 
ing is  the  obligation,  in  the  view  of  a  pious  pa- 
rent,  to  warn  them  early  and  carefully  against 
those  seductive  principles  or  companions  which 
may  jeopard  their  eternal  happiness !  Were 
you  to  see  your  children  assailed  by  the  arts  of 
open  infidels,  reading  their  books,  frequenting 
their  impious  assemblies,  and  beginning  to  bor- 
row their  blasphemous  cavils,  you  would,  no 
doubt,  consider  the  prospect  as  highly  alarming, 
and  hasten  to  employ  all  proper  means  to  save 
them.  But,  if  what  I  have  said  in  the  preceding 
pages  be  correct,  the  arts  of  Unitarians  are  not 
less  seductive,  nor  the  danger  of  yielding  to 
them  less  imminent,  than  those  of  open  infideli- 
ty. To  your  children  and  dependents,  then^ 
you  owe  the  solemn  debt  of  faithful  instruction 
and  warning  on  this  subject.  Tell  them  the  real 
nature  of  this  "  soul-destroying  heresy.''  Let 
them  not  fall  blind-folded  and  unwarned  over 
the  fatal  precipice.  Lead  them  with  humble 
diligence  and  prayer  to  the  knowledge  and  the 
sanctuary  of  that  blessed  Redeemer,  whose  Di- 
vinity and  atoning  Sacrifice,  form,  as  you  have 
seen,  the  only  hope  of  sinful  man. 


308  LETTER  VIIL 

The  truth  is, — and  however  offensive  the  ex- 
pression of  it  may  be,  I  cannot  forbear  to  ex- 
press it — the  truth  is,  if  I  had  no  concern  for 
the  everlasting  welfare  of  my  children,  I  could 
no  more  consent  that  they  should  be  brought  up 
under  Unitarian  influence,  or  in  Unitarian  in- 
stitutions, than  I  could  to  place  them  under  the 
direction  of  the  avowed  teachers  of  frigid  and 
cheerless  scepticism.  Nay,  I  am  compelled  se- 
riously to  doubt,  whether  it  ought  not  to  be 
deemed  less  dangerous  to  commit  a  youth  to  the 
tuition  of  an  avowed  infidel,  than  to  that  of  one 
w^ho  would  be  zealous  in  endeavouring  to  instil 
into  his  mind  the  principles  of  a  corrupt  and  de- 
lusive system,  under  the  name  of  the  Christian 
Religion. 

When  I  consider  the  tendency  of  Unitarian 
sentiments,  especially  in  some  of  their  prevalent 
modifications,  equally  to  take  away  the  most 
powerful  motives  to  virtue,  and  the  strongest 
barriers  against  vice,  I  should  certainly  feel  as 
if,  in  committing  my  children  to  such  guidance, 
I  was  exposing  them  to  double  danger ; — dan- 
ger, I  mean,  of  temporal,  no  less  than, spiritual 
ruin.      Can  any  impartial  man  believe  that  the 


LETTER  VIII.  309 

lax  system  of  these  men  is  as  much  calculated  to 
form  young  persons  to  purity,  self-denial,  sobri- 
ety, diligence,  and  true  elevation  of  character, 
as  the  system  of  the  Orthodox  ?  That  it  is  as 
much  adapted  to  humble  pride,  to  curb  the  pas- 
sions, and  to  sanctify  the  life  ?  I  can  only  say, 
if  it  be,  I  must  give  up  all  belief  in  the  connec- 
tion between  causes  and  effects.  Unitarianism 
appears  to  me  to  have  a  natural  tendency  to 
encourage  the  young  in  those  habits  of  dissipa- 
tion, which  are  altogether  unfriendly  to  great 
attainments  in  knowledge  and  virtue;  and  which 
the  man  of  sound  secular  wisdom,  as  well  as  the 
christian,  ought  to  wish  to  repress  in  his  chil- 
dren, especially  while  their  characters  are  form- 
ing.— Again,  then,  I  say,  expose  not  those  who 
ought  to  be  dear  to  you  as  your  own  souls,  to 
such  unhallowed  and  fatal  influence.  Endeavour 
to  place  them  in  circumstances  and  under  teach- 
ers favourable  to  their  being  led  in  "  the  old 
paths,"  in  "  the  good  way,"  which  you  may 
hope  will  conduct  them  to  honour,  to  usefulness^ 
and  to  eternal  life. 

The  THIRD  and  last  consideration  to  which  I 
beg  your  regard,  is  the  great   importance. 


310 


LETTER  VIII. 


of  manifesting  the  influence  of  genuine 
Christianity  on  the  temper  and  the  prac- 
tice. Let  not  your  Unitarian  neighbours,  who 
embrace  a  spurious  Christianity,  and  who  more 
resemble  infidels,  in  drawing  boastful  compari- 
sons between  themselves  and  the  Orthodox,  on 
the  score  of  moral  virtue,  than  any  other  class  of 
religionists  with  W'hich  I  am  acquainted  ; — let 
them  have  no  occasion  to  remark,  that  you  are 
less  pure,  less  benevolent,  less  publick  spirited, 
than  those  whom  you  stigmatize  as  hereticks. 
Give  no  occasion  to  the  adversary  to  speak  re- 
proachfully. Let  them  rather  be  ashamed^  hav- 
ing no  evil  thing  to  say  of  yoiu  Let  it  be  seen 
that  Orthodoxy  is  not  a  mere  system  of  heartless 
speculations,  but  that  it  is  as  benign  and  heav- 
enly in  its  influence,  as  it  is  scriptural  in  its  au-' 
thority.  Study  to  spread  its  glory  by  the  lustre 
of  your  example.  Every  one  is  not  qualified  to 
defend  Christianity  by  argument;  but  every 
one  may  defend  it  quite  as  effectually  and  useful- 
ly by  an  eminently  holy  life.  Endeavour,  then, 
by  the  daily  cultivation  of  every  christian  grace 
and  virtue,  and  hy  going  about,  like  your  Divine 
Master,  doing  good,  to  recommend  thfe  truth  to 
all  around  voli.    Make  no  arrogant  claims.   Say 


LETTER  VIII.  311 

to  none,  either  by  your  words  or  conduct^  Stand 
by,  for  rve  are  holier  than  ye:  but  let  your  lives 
be  a  continual  sermon ;  let  your  light  so  shine  be- 
fore men^  that  they  may  see  your  good  works^  arid 
glorify  your  Father  in  heaven. 

My  Christian  Brethren^  I  have  now  done. 
With  the  freedom  of  a  minister  of  Christy  and 
with  the  affectionate  respect  of  one  who  feels  a 
cordial  interest  in  the  welfare  of  you  and  youl^ 
children,  I  have  ventured  to  address  you  on  the 
most  important  of  all  subjects.  My  first  prayer 
is,  that  what  I  have  written  may  be  made  to 
promote  your  spiritual  benefit ;  my  next,  that 
you  may  receive  it,  as  it  is  intended,  as  an  offer- 
ing of  unfeigned  christian  friendship.  But  it  is 
a  small  thing  to  be  judged  of  man's  judgment. 
The  day  is  approaching  when  You  and  I  must 
stand  before  the  judgment  seat  of  that  Saviour, 
whose  glory  I  have  humbly  endeavoured  to  vin- 
dicate. God  grant  that  we  all,  as  well  as  those 
whom  we  are  now  compelled  to  regard  as  ene- 
mies of  the  truth,  may  find  mercy  of  the  Lord  in 
that  day  I  God  grant  that,  when  that  trial  shall 
arrive,  we  may  be  found  not  to  have  rested  in 
speculative  notions,  but  to  have  devoted  our- 


31^  LETTER  VIII, 

selves  in  heart  and  in  life  to  Him  who  was  made 
sin  for  us  J  though  He  knew  no  si?i,  that  we  might 
be  made  the  righteousness  of  God  in  Him  !  His 
name  shall  endure  forever*  His  name  shall  be 
continued  as  long  as  the  sun ;  and  men  shall  be 
blessed  in  Him:  all  nations  shall  call  Him  blessed. 
Now  blessed  be  his  glorious  name  forever  ;  and 
let  the  whole  earth  be  foiled  with  his  glory  / 
Amm^  and  Amen  / 


4-^     T^ 


